Fever and related illnesses continue to claim more lives across districts in the worst-ever dengue epidemic to have hit the State.
The Health Department’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Project reported eight deaths in the State on Tuesday.
Two fever deaths were reported from Kollam, including that of a 13-year-old. Four persons died following suspected dengue, including two in Thrissur, one in Palakkad, and one in Malappuram that of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl.
One confirmed dengue death was reported from Kollam, while a one-and-a-half-year-old child died following H1N1 in Malappuram.
A total of 23,633 persons sought treatment for fever at various public sector hospitals in the State on Tuesday, of whom 209 were confirmed to be having dengue fever.
Thiruvananthapuram reported 49 confirmed cases of dengue, Kollam, 38, Pathanamthitta, 32, Kozhikode 21 and Thrissur, 14.
The total number of confirmed dengue cases reported in the State now stands at 8,380. The official figures put the number of confirmed dengue deaths this year at 15 and that of suspected dengue deaths at 71.
H1N1 cases are also climbing steadily this season and so far there have been 893 confirmed cases and 58 deaths.
Meanwhile, cleaning campaigns and vector-control drives were launched in all districts on Tuesday as part of the government’s intensified efforts to check the spread of infectious diseases. The campaign will be taken up for two more days in an intensified manner.
The monsoon playing truant had been one of the reasons for the sudden increase in the number of fever cases as intermittent spells of rain followed by long, humid days is a conducive environment for the dengue-causing Aedes mosquitoes to thrive.
If the monsoon intensifies and holds on, much of the mosquito eggs and larvae would be washed away in the downpour, bringing down the vector index.
However, going by the trends in the previous years, dengue cases are likely to climb again for a while before showing a downward trend.
