The Health Department has stepped up preventive measures, including anti-mosquito drive and surveillance, at Valapattanam in view of the death of a migrant worker diagnosed with malaria.
A migrant worker from Madhya Pradesh, identified as Ramesh, 25, died on Sunday. He was working at a plywood factory at Valapattanam here.
Health officials said he had returned from his native place a week ago. He died on the day he was admitted to a private hospital at Pappinissery here.
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“It is an imported case of malaria,” they said, adding that the migrant worker could have contracted the disease from anopheles mosquito in his native place.
“Though it is an imported case of malaria, we are still vigilant and has initiated preventive measures, including close surveillance of co-workers of the deceased and vector-control measures in the locality,” said District Medical Officer K. Narayana Naik.
He said after Thiruvananthapuram, the largest number of malaria cases in the State was reported from Kannur.
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All the cases of malaria being reported in the district are imported cases. The number of malaria cases reported since January this year is 143, which included 57 cases of malaria infection among migrant workers and 86 imported cases of malaria.
Even a single indigenous case of malaria would be viewed as an outbreak, they said. The efforts being taken by the Health Department included steps to correctly identify the vector and intensive drive to control adult mosquito and larvae.
“As part of the surveillance and precautionary measures, blood smears of migrant workers in the factory have been collected for testing. Blood smears of local workers will also be tested,” they said.
The district administration’s ‘Plastic-free Kannur’ would also be linked to the vector-control programme, they said.