THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department has woken up to the challenge posed by recurring infectious diseases plaguing the state and decided to strengthen disease monitoring cells in medical college hospitals (MCHs). The department has plans to strengthen the existing prevention of epidemic and infectious disease cells (PIED cells) and for building isolation blocks in MCHs, over and above budgetary allocation.
The fresh impetus came in the wake of the second Nipah outbreak, which was preceded by the Zika outbreak, this year. The strengthening of disease monitoring mechanisms is important since the implication of missing such cases is that Kerala could potentially become the setting for the next pandemic. This can cost dearly unless the state makes interventions, according to health experts.
The PIED cell is involved in outbreak monitoring, evaluation, field survey, data collection, processing and reporting. “The proposal is for enhancing manpower and other facilities at the state-level PIED cell. We have also ensured the participation of private medical colleges since the Nipah outbreak,” said Remla Beevi, Director of Medical Education.
Health Minister Veena George informed the assembly that a Centre for Contagious Diseases is a pet project of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) lab facility equipped with stringent containment facilities for dealing with airborne viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid, will start functioning at Kozhikode MCH in a year, she said. The budget has sanctioned money for setting up infectious diseases blocks in MCHs.
The PIED cell was started, with the intention of detecting and containing major outbreaks through continuous monitoring of cases reported at major hospitals, in the early 1980s. It has helped the state in detecting and containing dengue, Japanese encephalitis and leptospirosis outbreaks in the next two decades. According to the health experts, the cell has been systematically undermined since 2011 till the first Nipah outbreak provided a wake-up call in 2018.
“There are various units dealing with infectious diseases under different departments. Yet, we failed to detect the second outbreak of Nipah. The approach was more of a reactionary mode. So apart from facilities, we need good coordination to detect and contain emerging diseases and a future pandemic,” said Althaf A, epidemiologist and associate professor at Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri. He said that the private healthcare sector shall be actively involved in surveillance as 60 per cent of patients seek treatment at private hospitals.