Surveillance stepped up after sporadic cases of chickenpox

22 cases of chickenpox were reported in February and 17 in March

The Health Department has stepped up surveillance in rural areas of Coimbatore district after sporadic cases of chickenpox were reported in the past two months.

Official sources told The Hindu here on Wednesday that 22 cases of chickenpox were reported in February and 17 in March.

All patients have been admitted into ‘isolation wards’ in one of the nine Government Hospitals or at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

Officials added that the number of cases was not high compared to the previous years.

However, the Department was keeping a close watch on rural areas as the number of chickenpox cases was expected to increase as the summer season advances.

The department has identified the blocks in which the cases were reported and had deployed mazdoors (health workers) to undertake cleaning works.

All the 47 primary health centres in the district have also been instructed to report any case of chickenpox immediately.

Counselling

The Health Department officials were counselling the patients’ relatives and friends on health education such as how to administer treatment, adopt personal hygiene measures and ensure the disease was contained.

Further, officials said they were urging the residents in rural areas to consume tender coconut water, fruits and lots of water to avoid dehydration and chickenpox as well. The officials were also placing a lot of emphasis on water quality as it was among the major carriers of the disease during summer.

The water scarcity forces people to consume water even from unhygienic sources such broken pipelines.

The local bodies in the district have been instructed to immediately attend to any breakages in drinking water pipelines and undertake frequent cleaning of the water tanks.