A high-level meeting of health officials, senior health administrators, and public health experts convened by the Health Minister here on Sunday decided to bring out an algorithm for dengue management, derived from the latest and revised dengue management protocol issued by the World Health Organisation.
The algorithm, which can be referred to by doctors during clinical practice, is being prepared by an expert team from the medical colleges.
It has also been decided to post a special medical officer in every Assembly constituency to monitor the infectious diseases situation and coordinate the activities. Dengue cases began showing an upward trend from the second week of April. While the capital district tops the list, the other districts to watch out for are Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, and Kollam, health officials say.
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In fact, these districts need a special action plan to keep the dengue cases under check, public health experts say.
Over 2,200 cases of dengue fever have been reported till date in the State, with more than half being reported from Thiruvananthapuram. However, what has been especially worrying this year has been the increased mortality of dengue.
Official statistics puts the confirmed number of deaths in the State at nine. However, officials point out that there have been reports of at least 30 unconfirmed or suspected dengue deaths from various small and medium private hospitals.
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As many as 2,639 cases of hepatitis A, including three deaths, and 14 cholera cases have been reported till May 31 this year.
Most of the hepatitis A cases are from Kozhikode (1,191), Kollam (772), Wayanad (295) and Kannur (109), indicating the non-availability of safe drinking water.