Following the confirmation of the outbreak of kala-azar at a tribal colony at Chempanaruvi in Piravanthur grama panchayat, near Pathanapuram, a medical team comprising experts from Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, and the district medical office here will be arriving at Chempanaruvi on Tuesday.
Deputy DMO (Kollam) R. Sandhya told The Hindu that the purpose of the visit is to study the situation and initiate preventive measures. Dr. Sandhya said that though only one case has been reported, it has been taken seriously by the health authorities since it is the visceral form of which has been detected and is the most serious among the three forms of the disease.
The presence of one sandfly in the area has been reported.
She said the main task on Tuesday at Chempanaruvi will be to conduct blood tests to identify whether the disease had spread to others. Suspected habitats of the sandfly will be sprayed with DDT as part of vector-control measure, she said.
