THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As monsoon intensifies, communicable diseases continue to pose a major public health challenge in the capital, with nearly 8,000 fever cases and 274 dengue cases reported over the past 10 days. Adding on to the woes, three Shigella cases have been reported on Thursday, prompting the authorities to step up surveillance and take preventive measures.
In the wake of emerging health concerns,the corporation and the health department convened a joint meeting on Thursday to assess the situation and strengthen disease prevention efforts. Of the three Shigella cases reported in the district, two are under the corporation limits.
According to officials, while dengue and chikungunya cases remain largely under control, intermittent rainfall and water stagnation continue to create favourable conditions for mosquito breeding. The review meeting assessed source reduction activities undertaken across all hundred wards.
A senior official of the corporation said that the Shigella cases appear to be isolated cases and there is no indication of an outbreak.
“The case reported in Pettah involves a four year-old-child who had no recent travel history. Preliminary investigations suggest the infection may have been contracted through contaminated objects handled by the child. Following the detection of the case, the Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) intensified preventive measures in the area, including chlorination of wells and inspections of neighbouring households,” said the official.
The source of infection in the Shigella case reported at Chanthavila has not yet been identified.
As a precautionary measure, the corporation has launched inspections targeting hotels and thattukadas.
On Thursday night, the special squads under the corporation cracked down on thattukadas focusing on the quality of drinking water, hygiene standards, food handling practices and the use of stale or uncovered food.
The corporation has deployed more squads to cover eateries across all health circles from Friday onwards.
Around 400 ASHA wo rkers have been deployed for conducting house visits, source reduction activities and awareness campaigns. “We will be doing mass fogging activities at hotspots where outbreaks happen. A rapid response team has been deployed for emergency response,” the official added.