Woman succumbs to Japanese encephalitis

KOZHIKODE: A slew of diseases are on the prowl in the district. Nipah was followed by jaundice and now Japanese encephalitis (JE) has reared its head in Kozhikode too and Chemmarathur native Kunjipathu (68) has succumbed to it. She died at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (KMCH) and the sample result from Manipal has confirmed JE.

According to the Health Inspector of Maniyur gram panchayat, the presence of the breeding spot of culex mosquitoes, which spreads JE, has been identified at Chemmarathur. The health wing has streamlined activities in the region and combined efforts to destroy mosquito breeding sources are going on.

At the same time, five new cases of jaundice have been reported at Thalakulathur on Wednesday, taking the total number to 106. All the cases are from the local area who got afflicted from a single source of welcome drink at a house warming function held here on May 12.

The health authorities are expecting more cases as the window period is 45 days.  “ The health department is on complete vigil. As many as 160 houses were visited on Wednesday and chlorination done in 142 water bodies,” said district medical officer (DMO) Dr V. Jayashree.

Besides, six hotels have been inspected and two households, where a function is going to be held, was also visited and precautionary measures taken.

The district administration has decided to extend the OP timing of Thalakulathur CHC to 6 pm. In addition, extra service of a doctor and a lab technician has been provided to the CHC.

Meanwhile, the death of a woman from Puthupaady, suspected to be from dengue, has thrown another concern. The DMO is yet to get the details of the death which occurred at KMCH.