Karnataka   

Chikungunya in Sullia, Puttur

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

CAUSE OF CONCERN: Health officials collecting larvae from an open water tank in Katta village of Sullia taluk.

SULLIA/MANGALORE: There is fear of a large-scale outbreak of Chikungunya in dozens of villages in the twin taluks of Sullia and Puttur. The worst affected villages are, Kamila, Panja, Katta, Guthigaru, Kayambadi of Sullia taluk and Balya, Kadaba, Kottrupadi, Kodimbala, Aiathoor villages of Puttur taluk.

Confirming this, District Health Officer H. Jagannath said that over 1,000 people in these areas were suffering from viral fever and had shown symptoms similar to that of Chikungunya. Of them, 150 are suspected to have been infected. The current situation has been building up over the last fortnight.

In Panja village, 40 km from Puttur, health workers and epidemic control units were found in a state of frenzied activity on Friday. The team collected several samples of blood from people who complained of fever and joint pain in the last 24 hours. District entomologist, Muktha Achar, said the recent rains were the cause of several mosquito breeding sites in the area.

Speaking to The Hindu from Bangalore, the Principal Health Secretary Madan Gopal also confirmed that the main cause of the outbreak was the unseasonable rain witnessed recently. He also said that an increase in the seasonal movement of migrant labourers might have boosted the dispersion of the virus.Mr. Gopal said that he had deputed Deputy Director of Health Vasudeva Rao to the affected area. Mr. Rao, who is in- charge of controlling vector borne diseases such as Chikungunya, malaria and filaria, would be camping in the affected region for three days, starting Saturday.

A hurriedly organised meeting of top officials from the District Health Department and senior administrators was held in Puttur on Friday on the orders of Mr. Gopal. At the meeting, the officials agreed upon a ‘micro plan’ for the control of the virus. The plan would be implemented with immediate effect, said Deputy Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao, one of the members at the meeting.

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