Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Chicken pox incidence up

Staff Reporter

392 cases reported in last two months

Thiruvananthapuram: As summer intensifies, a number of chicken pox cases are being reported from various parts of the district. The high incidence of this viral infection during summer is quite usual but with a total of 392 cases being reported in the last two months, the district health administration has been intensifying awareness campaigns on the disease.

Several cases of chicken pox are being reported daily at the general medicine department at the Medical College Hospital (MCH) and at several private hospitals in the city.

Cases are being reported from Chengalchoola, Pozhiyoor, Valiathura, Peroorkada, Pangappara, Uzhamalakkal, Aryanad, Chettivilakam and Neyyattinkara. Both the men's and women's hostels of College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, had to be closed last month following a mild outbreak of chicken pox, district health administration officials said.

However, in most of the areas from where the disease is being reported, health awareness classes and medical camps are being held and the situation is now under control, they claimed. Prevention of chicken pox is possible through vaccination now and most paediatricians now recommend the Varicella vaccine for children. It is also recommended for adults and adolescents who never had chicken pox infection before. Healthy persons who have not been vaccinated or not had the disease before, but who come into contact with an infected person, can lessen the severity of the infection if they get vaccinated within the first three to five days after the exposure. District Medical Officer Kumari G. Prema said that instructions were issued to purchase Acyclovir, an anti-viral drug, which could help minimise the severity of the infection.

This was an expensive drug and though it was not a cure for infection, its use could speed up the healing of the sores, prevent fresh sore from developing and lower the risk of complications from the virus, she said. Awareness was also being given to the public about Varicella vaccine, which could prevent the disease, she said.

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