Kerala - Kochi   

Steps to counter outbreak of diseases

Staff Reporter

SEASON OF EPIDEMICS: People have been advised to boil drinking water.

KOCHI: Monsoon is a season that sees the outbreak of many diseases. The district health authorities claimed that they were well prepared to meet the emergencies rising out of any disease outbreak this year. The beginning of the rainy season is definitely a time when the people need to be more careful about maintaining personal hygiene and a clean environment.

This is the time when the toll of many diseases such as leptospirosis and dengue fever rises. The advice of the Health authorities is not to take recourse to self treatment. It is important to see a doctor, said District Medical Officer K.T. Remani. Self-medication does more harm, she added.

The Health authorities have also advised people to keep the environs free from stagnant water. While water logging may be a civic problem, which needs to be addressed by a civic authority, people should be careful that water does not get collected in broken mugs, buckets, coconut shells or old tyres lying unused.

Water that gets collected in such a manner becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which are the main vectors of a number of diseases such as dengue and malaria. According to Dr. Remani, the Health inspectors in rural area have been specifically told to identify and destroy such breeding grounds of mosquitoes.

Waste management

In city areas, the waste management poses a bigger threat. These become the source for attracting rodents such as rats, which are the main source of spreading leptospirosis.

Walking through water logged areas with cuts or bruises on legs is dangerous as bacteria find their way into the body through these cuts.

Drinking water

The focus of the Health authorities is to keep the environment free of waste and stress on using good source of water. Wells, that have a danger of getting contaminated, should be chlorinated. Boiled water is the safest, said Dr. Remani.

Incidence of viral fever, which was on the rise during the summer months, has reportedly come down after the rains, according to the District Medical Office.

Till now, except for one case of suspected leptospirosis this month, there has not been any report on any monsoon-related diseases, said an official at the District Medical Office.

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