Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Doctors strike hindering epidemic prevention work

Thiruvananthapuram: Intermittent spells of torrential rain followed by hot and humid days could spell disaster for the vector management strategies of the Health administration, which is already beleaguered by lack of supervision of preventive activities on the field, thanks to the strike by government doctors.

Even though some pre-monsoon measures have been launched as part of the State-level action plan to prevent infectious diseases, vector indices have been showing the upward trend in many parts of the district, especially Vamanapuram and Perumkadavila regions. While some local bodies are implementing source-reduction activities and regular dry day observation, the medical officers in primary health centres, who have to coordinate these activities, have chosen to stay away from all field-level work.

Disbursement of funds from the National Rural Health Mission for ward-level sanitation committees to implement epidemic preparedness activities and cleaning programmes, have been completed in February itself. This year, 86 Corporation wards were also provided Rs.10,000 each from NRHM.

However, at least 25 per cent of these funds have remained unutilised in the district as the medical officers have distanced themselves from all NRHM activities and have refused to collect the cheques, official sources said.

While the Corporation wards were given Rs.10,000 in one lot, for all wards in panchayats, the funds were given in two lots of Rs.5,000 each. Many panchayats have utilised the first instalment of funds. The second lot would be released only if the statement of expenses (SoE) is submitted on time by the local bodies.

Wards such as Malayinkeezh which submitted the SoEs well on time received the second allotment and have planned activities for vector management. However, in most panchayat wards, by the time the fund was allotted, the doctors had resumed the strike. The medical officers are supposed to issue these funds to the field workers.

Meanwhile, the slackening of the plastic ban implementation could indirectly result in burgeoning of the mosquito population, it is pointed out. Plastic wastes have again begun to pile up in various places and the stagnation of rain water in these could aid the breeding of the Aedes aegypti species of mosquitoes, which requires as little as a teaspoon of water to breed.

Public health experts are also worried about the erratic pattern in rainfall and the increase in humidity, which they say can fuel the vector population. Intensified rains favour mosquito breeding, while humidity and heat speeds up the development of the vector and its capacity to transmit diseases.

“It is high time that we acknowledged that along with our traditional challenges, climate changes could be another factor that we have to reckon with when planning vector management strategies,” an entomologist said.

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