The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Government releases protocol for tackling chikungunya

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Saturday, May 10, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Government releases protocol for tackling chikungunya

Staff Reporter

Framed after talks with stakeholders; hospitals ordered to follow norms

Protocol deals with identification and management of the disease
Details procedure for hospitals once cases are reported

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government has, for the first time, come out with a detailed protocol for the management of fever cases suspected to be chikungunya to be followed by all doctors and hospitals in the State.

The protocol has been formulated by the State Disease Control and Monitoring Cell of the Department of Health after several rounds of consultations with stakeholders, including private practitioners, the Indian Medical Association and other professional bodies, and is said to be the first ever comprehensive document on chikungunya management to be brought out by any State government.

The government has issued an order that the protocol is to be followed in all hospitals. Copies of the chikungunya management protocol, brought out in poster from, have been sent to the superintendents of all government hospitals for displaying on hospital premises.

The document lists out the case definition of chikungunya, how cases have to be classified, the kind of cases to be referred to tertiary care, common drugs to be used and how fever with arthralgia should be medically managed.

The protocol also deals with management of skin and muscular problems of chikungunya.

It details mild exercises that can be done to minimise the effects of arthralgia and comprehensive guidelines for managing the neuro-psychiatric problems associated with chikungunya.

‘Things to do’ list

The protocol also includes a five-point ‘Things to do’ list for hospitals if fever cases suspected to be chikungunya are reported.

These include starting a separate fever ward in hospitals, ensuring that the fever-affected stays under mosquito nets round-the-clock, reporting the number of cases immediately to the district health authorities concerned, once-a-week source reduction activities around hospital premises and following the treatment protocol strictly.

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