Even as preparations are on in full swing to celebrate reopening of schools on Monday, the officials of the Health Department have warned parents and teachers to be on guard against infectious fever and other diseases to which their children are highly vulnerable if exposed to unhygienic conditions, especially contaminated drinking water in schools.
A Health Department official on Saturday appealed to teachers and parents to be on their guard to protect their children against infectious fever, water-borne jaundice and mosquito-borne dengue fever in view of the outbreak of these diseases reported from different parts of Kozhikode district.
Jaundice cases
The spate of jaundice cases reported from Kuttiadi, Thamarassery, and Koduvally has made it extremely important that children drink only water that has been boiled and cooled.
There have been widespread complaints that water supplied to many places were drawn from polluted water sources and distributed without proper treatment placing its users at risk of contracting jaundice and other water-borne diseases.
“It is very important to ensure children do not eat ice sticks and other ice products, and mango, and other fruits kept in brine and sold by wayside vendors near their schools. Teachers and PTA members should take the lead to keep these vendors away from near the school since ice products and pickles are known to be major source of diseases,” the health department official said..
Teachers and children suffering from fever and other infectious diseases have also been advised to keep away from school until they are cured so that others would not get infected.
True, recent rains have reduced the density of contamination in rivers from where water was supplied to households, but the threat of infection through untreated water has not been totally eliminated.
Vigil
Which is why health officials insist only water that is boiled and cooled should be used. With the onset of monsoon, the vigil against diseases will have to be intensified since there will be threat of diseases like rat fever also.
