BREEDING MOSQUITOES: The stagnant pool of wastewater accumulated in the open drainage before the District Hospital at Kozhencherry.

PATHANAMTHITTA: The pay wards of the Hospital Development Committee at the District Hospital at Kozhencherry have been converted into a `fever ward' for the next three months from Monday in view of the viral fever in the district attaining epidemic proportion.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy at the Collectorate Conference Hall here on Monday.

The meeting also decided to open another temporary `fever ward' on the ground floor of the pay ward at the District Cancer-care Centre attached to the district hospital from Monday.

Health and Welfare Standing Committee chairman of the district panchayat Omalloor Sankaran said that the panchayat had already prepared a plan estimated at Rs.2.5 crore for constructing an independent women and children's block at the district hospital. The Minister said that the proposed block would be a joint venture of the district panchayat, Health Department and the District Cancer-care Society (DCS).

Free treatment

She said that the DCS would also extend free treatment and medical examination to all the patients in the below-poverty-line category.

The Minister directed Medical Superintendent M.S. Umesh to prepare a detailed project report for the proposed modern administrative-cum-outpatient block at the hospital.

The Medical Superintendent requested the Minister to restore the Public Health Unit at the district hospital.

K. Sivadasan Nair, K.C. Rajagopalan and Raju Abraham, all MLAs; T.K. Kuttumony, Director of Health Services; District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh; S. Santhakumari, district panchayat president; A.P. Jayan, vice-president; N. Damodaran, District Medical Officer; and Philip Koshy, K.K. Royson, Seema Ramakrishnan, M.P. Maniyamma, all District Panchayat members, attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, 3,047 viral fever cases were reported at various Government and private hospitals in the district on Monday.

In a statement here on Monday, Fever Containment Cell convener Thomas Mathew said that suspected Chikunguniya cases reported in the district on Monday alone was 130.

Dr. Mathew said that at least one medical outreach camp would be conducted in all the affected areas of every panchayat. He said that Homoeopathy and Ayurveda Departments would also conduct medical camps in the fever-hit panchayats.

The Health Department sanctioned a financial assistance of Rs.5,000 to all the panchayat ward-level health and sanitation committees in the district.

The Health Minister directed the district authorities to fill the vacancies of cleaning staffs at various Government healthcare centres on a war-footing. The District Collector would convene a meeting of volunteers of the National Service Scheme, National Cadet Corps, Scouts and Guides units at schools and colleges and Nehru Yuva Kendra volunteers, seeking their active involvement in the mosquito-source reduction campaign.

The Collector would convene another meeting of various grama panchayat and block panchayat presidents, municipal chiefs and the Health and Sanitation Committee chairpersons attached to various local self-Government institutions in the district soon.

The meeting chaired by the Minister also decided to transport all the patients who were found seriously ill to Kottayam Medical College Hospital.

The Minister said that 702 field personnel were deployed in fever-affected areas of the district for sanitation and mosquito-source reduction.

Additional supervisory staff such will be redeployed from the neighbouring districts soon, she added.

Dr. Mathew said that six outreach medical camps were conducted at Naranammoozhi, Perinad, Bhayankaramudi, Ezhamkulam, Chathanthara and Kollamula on Monday.

Three dead

Three patients from the fever-hit areas of Koodal and Konni in Pathanamthitta district died on Monday.

The deceased were identified as Saramma, 60, of Punnamoodu, near Koodal; George Thomas, 52, of Rajagiri Estate at Koodal; and Lekshmikutty, 62, of Athirumkal, near Konni.

Though the cause of the deaths was attributed to different ailments, reports said that the patients were undergoing treatment for viral fever at various hospitals during the past two weeks.

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