KOCHI: The Health Department team inspecting chikungunya cases in the district has emphasised on vector control activities as the only way to control an outbreak of the disease.

The district has so far reported 127 cases of suspected chikungunya this year. On Friday, 13 more cases were reported. All the six samples sent to the virology institute tested positive for the disease.

The doctors are treating the other suspected fever cases also as chikungunya as it is difficult to conduct tests on all cases because of cost and time considerations, deputy district medical officer D. Sreenivasan said.

The team comprising specialists in vector studies included Shaukat Ali, Joint Director, National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Kozhikode; R. Rajendran, Deputy Director, NICD, Cherthala; P.George Jacob from the National Institute of Virology, Bangalore,; and K. Raghu, Deputy Director, NICD, Kozhikode.

They visited houses at Kuttampuzha, from where 123 out of the 127 cases of suspected chikungunya were reported.

Rubber plantations and pineapple farms were found to be breeding grounds of mosquitoes that carry the virus causing chikungunya.

Environment hygiene

Open coconut shells and new leaves of the pineapple plant can hold water, where mosquitoes can breed.

Unused tyres near bus depots and workshops are also a possible breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Source reduction to kill larvae, fogging to kill adult mosquitoes and personal protection by using mosquito nets and repellents are the ways to reduce the vector population by breaking its lifecycle.

The team identified Malayatoor, Muvattupuzha and Aluva as potential area for an outbreak of vector-borne disease since the house index and container index of mosquitoes was found to be high.

Other viral infections, like common cold and fever, are common in the district during the season with at least 900-odd cases being reported in the outpatient and inpatient wings of various hospitals in the district in a day.

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