The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : State plagued by diseases, old and new

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

State plagued by diseases, old and new

Staff Reporter

New ailments have cropped up in the past decade.
Old ones are
re-emerging.

Thiruvananthapuram: It is a disgrace that the State has to survive several emerging and re-emerging diseases year after year when almost all of these diseases are totally preventable and treatable, said A. Joseph, former professor of Community Medicine, Medical College.

Indiscriminate urbanisation, poor management of environment and neglect of the public health care system has made the State vulnerable to several viral diseases, many of which could be fatal, if not treated on time, he added, while speaking at a discussion on epidemics in Kerala here on Tuesday. The discussion was organised by Rajan Pillai Foundation.

Globally too, several diseases which were thought to have been eradicated have begun to re-surface. At the same time many diseases hitherto unheard of have also been emerging. As per the statistics of WHO, at least 30 new diseases have been reported globally in the past 30 years.

It is only in the past 10 to 15 years that diseases like leptospirosis, dengue fever and Japanese Encephalitis began to be reported in Kerala. Chikungunya is the latest entrant, which first appeared at Andhra Pradesh last year and then spread to Kerala and other southern States.

The State has also had to deal with diseases like malaria, which was thought to have been eradicated in 1965 and which have now re-emerged in certain pockets like Valiathura and have become endemic there. Filariasis case load has also been going up in the State, despite the intensive measures adopted for its control. The disease is now being reported from Thrissur and Palakkad, where previously there were no filariasis cases at all, he pointed out.

Almost all these diseases are a direct result of environmental degradation. Accumulation of garbage and increased use of plastic has contributed to the increase of mosquito and rodent population, which cause these diseases, Dr. Joseph said.

Tourism hit

A. Dandapani, Chief Operating Officer of Air Travel Enterprises said that the State’s image as a prime destination in the international tourism circuit had taken a severe beating with the recent chikungunya epidemic. Tourism arrivals, both domestic and international, had taken a dip in the past two months.

Unless collective efforts are launched by the State Government and the tourism industry the current situation could have a cascading effect on tourism, he felt.

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