Effective steps have been taken to check the spread of Kyasannur Forest Disease (KFD), also called monkey fever, which has affected 13 tribal colonies in Wayanad, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said.
Treatment facilities would be expanded and more health staff would be hired to organise control measures, Mr. Chandy said at a meeting convened to review the Wayanad situation here on Monday.
Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Tribes Minister P. K. Jayalakshmi also attended the review meeting.
The coordination of various departments — Health, Forest, Animal Husbandry, Welfare of Scheduled Tribes, and Panchayats — would be ensured at the district and State-level and coordination committees would be formed for launching control measures. Free ration will be made available to tribal families which have lost their livelihood as there are restrictions on entering the forest now.
A sum of Rs.2 lakh each would be made available from either the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund or the ST Department to the families of those who died following monkey fever.
Vaccines
All those affected by the KFD will be given Rs.10,000 each. Vaccines are being made available to the residents of tribal colonies and officials engaged in the prevention and control activities. Till now, 979 persons have been vaccinated and about 8,000 doses of the same and adequate personal protection equipment have been stocked.
Disease surveillance among the monkey population in the district has been strengthened. The Animal Husbandry Department is also taking all measures to ensure that the disease does not spread to other animals.
Since January, 127 cases of KFD have been reported in the State, out of which there were seven deaths. About 20 persons are currently under treatment in various hospitals.
Apart from the Ministers, MLAs M.V. Shreyams Kumar, I.C. Balakrishnan, and M.I. Shanavas; Health Secretary K. Ellangovan; SC/ST Principal Seceretary Subratho Biswas, and senior officials of the Health Department were present at the meeting.
