KOZHIKODE: The district medical office here has stepped up surveillance on the spread of Zika after a case of the same virus was reported in Tamil Nadu. DMO Dr Asha Devi issued an alert suggesting the dos and don’ts to prevent and control mosquito breeding. In a statement, she said the virus can affect developing foetuses in pregnant women and microcephaly can occur in babies born from infected mothers.
Microcephaly prevents the development of a child’s head, which will affect brain development adversely. “Aedes mosquitoes, which are also the vector of dengue, spread the Zika virus. So source reduction is important,” she said.
Health Minister should resign over fever fiasco: AICC sec
Thrissur : AICC secretary P C Vishnunath on Wednesday blamed the LDF Government’s alleged failure on the health front for the fever epidemic while calling for Health Minister K K Shylaja to step down taking moral responsibility for the same. Inaugurating the DCC’s sit-in protest here against the LDF Government’s failures, Vishnunath said the Health Department woke up to the issue only after fever claimed 300 lives.
Four-year-old girl dies of dengue
Palakkad: Liminta, 4, daughter of Sudheesh and Soniya of Kattukode Kunnekad in Vadakkencherry, died of dengue on Wednesday. She was an LKG student of Cherupushpam English Medium Upper Primary School at Vadakkencherry. She was suffering from fever for the past two days and was referred to a doctor in the town. Subsequently, the platelet count in blood reduced and her condition deteriorated. Though she was rushed to a private hospital in Thrissur, she died on Wednesday.