Re: Tracking deaths in Kerala (total 47)
Re: Tracking deaths in Kerala (total 47)
15 new H1N1 cases confirmed in State
Staff Reporter
Death toll this season put at 13
Focus on preventive measures
Take good rest and consume plenty of hot fluid
Thiruvananthapuram: Fifteen new cases of H1N1 infection have been confirmed in the State,
taking the total number of cases reported during this season (since May 1) to 129.
Of the new cases, five cases are from Thiruvananthapuram, six from Kozhikode and two each from Kollam and Malappuram.
Two deaths in Kollam district, which occurred on June 7, have now been confirmed as due to H1N1 infection. Deepa (27) of Chathannoor and Sheeja (26) of Edayadi, had died at the Medical College Hospital here while undergoing treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and viral pneumonia, two well-known complications of H1N1 infection.
The total death toll due to H1N1 this season has thus risen to 13.
About 15 persons are currently under hospital quarantine while 47 have been advised home quarantine. The throat swabs collected from 65 persons with acute symptoms have been sent for lab analysis.
Public health experts have pointed out that behavioural change among the public was crucial for checking the spread of H1N1 infection as it had now become a disease in the community.
?Please protect yourself from any complications of the infection by taking good rest and consuming plenty of hot fluids. Most importantly, prevent the transmission of the infection by staying at home. Stress should also be given to early detection ? any unexpected increase in ordinary illness or if the patient's condition does not improve as it should have within two days, should be a cause for concern. Guidelines have already been issued in the case of pregnant women, that treatment be started with Tamiflu without delay,? a senior health official said.
Schools should follow the special H1N1 guidelines that had been issued earlier and teachers should be asked to watch out for any child presenting in class with fever or mild flu.
Viral fever
Meanwhile, fever patients continue to crowd both government and private hospitals across the State but most of the cases are that of simple viral fever, which should resolve without any complications, with proper medicines and rest, Health officials claimed.
While thousands of fever cases are appearing in OP clinics in various hospitals across the State,
on Thursday, 12 cases of dengue fever and one case of leptospirosis were confirmed, according to Health Department's statistics.
Of the 12 cases of dengue, seven are from Pathanamthitta, four from Kottayam and one is from Kollam.
One of the private hospitals in the city reported the death of a staff member on Thursday ? Santhosh (42) ? as due to dengue haemorrhagic fever. However, the Health Department is yet to confirm it or include it in its official statistics.
Directive to DMOs
Director of Health Services M.K. Jeevan said that specific directions and guidelines had been given to all District Medical Officers to strengthen preventive and control measures to check the spread of vector-borne diseases.
All hospitals and health care centres under the public health system should be prepared to meet any emergency situations when large number of fever cases might descend. Incidence of infectious diseases should be strictly monitored and as soon as it is reported, the health field staff in the geographic locations where the diseases are reported should be asked to launch full-fledged control and preventive measures within 24 hours.
Special fever clinics should be started in areas from where fever cases are being reported in large numbers and the health workers and ASHA workers here should ensure that people are encouraged to seek early treatment.
At the panchayat-level, mobile fever clinics have been set up, which will deliver medical care to people by camping in specific locations in the panchayat.
Mosquito control measures should be augmented on a war footing and fever wards should be set up in major hospitals, the DHS has directed. Rapid Response Teams will monitor and strengthen the outbreak control measures in every district.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/11/stories/2010061162050400.htm
