THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Covid scenario in the district is changing with no alarming increase in the number of positive cases being reported. The small but uneven increase in daily tally is mostly attributed to the rush of voters seen during local body polls. The health department has now diverted focus to other ailments which have more or less been ignored for sometime now.
The health officials are currently holding malaria drive at railway stations and settlements of migrant labourers. A screening facility will soon be set up at Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station by the district administration where rapid test kits will be used to test the passengers.
While the state reported only nine malaria cases last year, the outbreak in other states had prompted the health department to give a major push for the drive. Migrants arriving in all trains are routinely being checked.The viral hepatitis drive that began late in November is almost complete. The tests are now being done as part of antenatal care in maternity hospitals. Hepatitis B and C tests were done in eight jails. The drive was done as part of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme.
With an increase in the number of chikungunya cases, a vector survey is being done across the district. The usual pre-monsoon survey got disrupted due to Covid outbreak. The district had seen a considerable spike in such cases even when the state was at the peak of the pandemic. In June, the district had witnessed 45 cases alone. In a survey held just before the outbreak of Covid, over 2,000 people had sought treatment for chikungunya in between October 2019 and January 2020. The number signifies the importance of reviving the need for focusing on projects to curb such diseases.
“With not many source reduction programmes happening over the past few months, we have started the clinics for water-borne diseases. We are reviving all the projects that were under way before the pandemic struck,” said Dr K S Shinu, DMO.
Regular immunisation drive for children
T’Puram: The Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has kick-started a campaign to ensure regular immunisation for all children which was delayed due to Covid. The project, jointly organised by IAP, state health department and National Health Mission, also aims to complete vaccination. The details of children who missed the shots are being collected. Once the data collection is completed, the vaccination programme will begin.