The Hindu : Kerala News : It is chikungunya, confirm experts

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Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007
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Kerala

It is chikungunya, confirm experts

Staff Reporter

Photo: S. Mahinsha

on fever situation: ICMR Director-General N.K. Ganguly talking to mediapersons on the viral fever situation, in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. —

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A second team of experts deputed by the Centre to assess the fever situation in the State has confirmed that the viral disease outbreak that has gripped Central Travancore is chikungunya and not any new or mysterious viral fever.

Reports in a section of the media on ‘tomato-fever’ have now been dismissed with the team confirming that itchy skin rashes were part of chikungunya symptoms.

After detailed investigations, doctors have now found that Nisa of Pathanamthitta – whose much-publicised face with bulbous red sores had become the face of the dreaded ‘tomato fever’ – was suffering from chicken pox, a secondary infection she had contracted following chikungunya.

The Central team, headed by N.K. Ganguly, Director-General of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), arrived in the capital on Monday and had detailed discussions with the State Health Department officials on the steps to be taken to help the public health machinery in tackling the situation.

Talking to presspersons later, Dr. Ganguly, said three Central teams had already visited the State and according to their reports, tests for new viruses had been negative.

“The viral fever cases may be going up, as it happens during the rainy season. But suspected chikungunya cases have been declining. If two months ago, about 25 per cent of the total viral fever cases were suspected to be chikungunya, now, only less than five per cent cases can be said to be chikungunya,” Dr. Ganguly said. Skin rashes and eruptions on the face were part of chikungunya symptoms. This fact has been reported in reputed medical journals like The Lancet. Chik ungunya was indeed a debilitating disease and can cause severe and prolonged arthritis. He said given Kerala’s climate and geographical features, chikungunya posed a formidable challenge to the State’s public health system. The thrust of prevention was indeed on vector control and in giving awareness to people of the ways in which the vector aids the spread of the disease.

Dr. Ganguly announced that the modern Virology Centre being set up at Alappuzha will network with all medical schools in the State so that the capabilities of the State machinery were enhanced.

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