Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Army confident about fever control

G. Anand

Steps taken will give better results soon, says its medical expert

Thiruvananthapuram: The Army’s Deputy Director of Medical Services, Brigadier Pradeep Kumar, said on Thursday that viral fever was on the decline in the affected districts in Kerala. The Army had opened medical camps in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta on June 10 at the behest of the State Government. He said the State’s disease control strategy, implemented with Army assistance, would show more results in the coming weeks.

Quoting interim reports from the Army-run medical camps, the Brigadier told The Hindu that only a small percentage of patients (an estimated 19 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram) had viral fever. Among them, only few showed symptoms of chikungunya. (Out of the 3,360 patients treated in Thiruvananthapuram on June 10 and 11, only nine tested positive for chikungunya). The Army doctors were yet to come across any suspected case of dengue. Most were cases of stomach disorders, skin, and eye and throat ailments.

The Army had used costly laboratory kits for screening patients for chikungunya and dengue. The rapid tests were conducted only on ‘highly suspect’ patients. The Brigadier said the tests were not conclusive and there could be a margin of error.

The blood samples of those who tested positive are being analysed by the Health Department. Many of the patients had reported a type of viral infection in which body pain persisted even after the fever abated. A high number of the patients were diabetics requiring specific treatment.

The team send by the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Service to investigate the high incidence of fever has collected mosquito specimens and sought virology test results of patients. It will submit its report soon.

Colonel Rajat Sreevastava of the medical team said mosquitoes bred most in stagnant water accumulated in coconut shells used extensively in rubber plantations for collecting latex. Pineapple plantations are also breeding grounds for mosquitoes because water tends to collect between the thick leaves of the plant. The Army has suggested the use of two types of chemicals for eradicating mosquitoes without spoiling crops or polluting water. Army mechanics have modified several vehicles at low cost for use as mobile fogging machines.

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