One more suspected case of diphtheria was reported in the district on Tuesday, taking the total number of diphtheria cases to eight this month. “The swab of the patient, a 36-year-old woman from Chennamangalam, has been sent for lab tests,” said the District Surveillance Officer.
Pertussis, another vaccine-preventable disease, was detected in a person on Monday. Last month, three cases of pertussis or whopping cough were reported in the district, taking the total number of cases to four. While the management of the disease is said to be easier than diphtheria, it could be lethal in children.
Twenty more suspected dengue cases were reported on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in the district to 443. The number of suspected leptospirosis cases has also gone up to 21. There are now seven confirmed cases.
With vaccine-preventable diseases getting reported at frequent intervals, the district Health wing is forced to deploy a section of the staff for the management of these diseases. Doctors from the Kochi branch of the Indian Medical Association, Indian Academy of Paediatrics, and medical colleges in the district have joined hands with the Health Department to combat diseases.
A team of health officials and experts from the private sector are training doctors at private hospitals in the management of such diseases, said District Medical Officer N.K. Kuttappan. “While government doctors have been provided training on the protocol to be followed in cases of dengue fever, H1N1, leptospirosis and diphtheria, doctors in the private sector were not aware of the norms to be followed,” he said.
