KOZHIKODE: Alarmed by the increase in epidemics like diphtheria and malaria in the district, reportedly due to the high number of floating migrant population, the health department has kicked off a campaign focusing on the migrant population with posters, banners and stickers in Bengali and Hindi, apart from English and Malayalam. The health workers also were advised to learn Hindi and Bengali to convey the message to the migrant settlements and strike a rapport with the members.
It may be recalled that the district has been witnessing a return of lethal diseases that were once declared eliminated by the state through meticulous healthcare and precautionary steps. The diseases that made a comeback recently include cholera, malaria and diphtheria, apart from bouts of rat fever and dengue fever. District medical officer R.L. Saritha told this newspaper that for the campaign against diphtheria and malaria the department is focusing on the migrant population as they are more prone to the diseases due to bad health and poor living conditions.
“We are giving more focus on migrants in the anti-malaria campaign as most of the labourers are coming from malaria infested regions, she said, adding that posters, banners and stickers in Bengali and Hindi would be used in spots where migrants gather including bus waiting stations, buses, ATM counters and also at migrant settlements. Though there was an attempt to issue health cards to the 50,000 migrant labourer community which flow in from North Indian states and are prone to various epidemics, the project reached nowhere.
The source of malaria, when it was first reported in the district after a long interval, was traced to migrant settlements. District collector N. Prasanth told this newspaper that the cooperation of other departments, local administrative bodies and bus owners would also be sought for the campaign. It may be recalled that the first malaria outbreak in the city was tracked to a migrant settlements a few years back.
Diphtheria cases on a steady rise
Amid the awareness campaign and vaccination drive on a war-footing, the number of suspected diphtheria cases has risen to 59 in Kozhikode district in which 13 are confirmed, according to the data of Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP). Diphtheria is reported in Malappuram district this year in the state after an interval of one year which later spread to Kozhikode.
Another lethal fever Leptospirosis (rat fever) registered 154 cases in the district so far of which 85 were confirmed. In June and July so far, as many as 137 and 74 cases of dengue fever were reported reportedly in the district which is many fold lower than the previous year.
In 2015, as many as 2,238 dengue fever cases were reported in the district with 566 cases in June and 598 in July. In all, as many as 587 dengue fever cases were confirmed last year whereas this year only around 100 cases were confirmed.
