Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

People urged to take steps to prevent outbreak of diseases

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: The district health administration has appealed to the public to take all necessary precautions to prevent the outbreak of water-borne infectious diseases, as rainwater has deluged most low-lying residential areas in the city and in the coast.

Even though the incidence of water-borne diseases have come down drastically in the past few years, activities such as chlorination of wells and spraying of larvicides in rain-filed drains should be carried out every monsoon to prevent any episodes of diarrhoeal diseases.

Temporary measures

Following the water-logging at Rajiv Nagar, Bala Nagar colonies, health officials had already commenced chlorination and other activities. However, as the rain continues, temporary measures to pump out water have not yielded any result.

Though the district health administration had suggested that it might be better to rehabilitate the colony dwellers, most residents have been unwilling to move out of their homes.

Spraying of larvicides to prevent mosquito breeding might not be advisable in the area now as most wells here are threatening to overflow. This might lead to possible chemical contamination of well water, it is pointed out.

Officials said that its network has been put on alert in the coastal belt as sewage and rainwater has filled the compounds of most houses as well as the wells. People have learnt to do chlorination on their own and bleaching powder is also being used to disinfect surroundings.

The supply of safe drinking water in the area assumes importance in the prevention of infectious diseases, the officials said. Medical camps are being organised in the relief camps that have been opened in the district following the flooding of many low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, an intensive vector control drive, with the concentration on source reduction or elimination of vector-breeding sites was launched in all 12 blocks in the district on Sunday. Every Sunday would now be observed as a `dry day' in all the wards.

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