Though there were more cases of malaria reported from the Visakha Agency this year compared to last year, effective controlling measures were on and there were no deaths due to malaria, District Medical and Health Officer U. Swarajya Lakshmi said here on Sunday.
Rapid Diagnostic Kits were provided to all Aasha workers to diagnose and treat the fever on the spot and in vulnerable areas health workers and supervisors were designated to two or three villages under pin-point programme, with instructions to visit the villages every day and treat the patients if they fell sick. In addition the five programme officers of the district have been made to cover five to six PHC areas each and send report by every evening.
Medical Officers and health workers from plain areas were being sent to the places where there were vacancies of MOs and health workers for a one month period by rotation and right now eight MOs were doing duty in the Agency area, Dr. Swarajya Lakshmi said.
Thanks to the steps being taken, there was no case of patients from the Agency area being admitted in the KGH here in an unconscious state, unlike last year, which was a positive development, she said.
She had visited Lingaputtu in Paderu Mandal under Minumuluru PHC where three deaths were reported. But she said the deaths were not due to malaria. Two were cases of jaundice (one of them refused to be admitted in the hospital) and another case, a three-month-old baby boy died due to diarrhoea.
Sanitation should be improved in the villages and some areas needed protected drinking water.
The Collector has been informed about the need to improve sanitation as the mosquitoes would breed more in the coming months.
Regional Director (medical and health) N.V. Somaraju, District Immunisation Officer R. Syamala, PODT K. Anupama and DEMO N. Surya Rao were also present.
