THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With communicable diseases and infectious diseases recurring in the state every year, experts say the health department needs to come out of its current knee jerk reaction and set up an exclusive Centre for coordinating disease detection, prevention and control activities. At the moment the health department's disease surveillance unit is focusing mainly on monitoring disease pattern, improving efficiency of the existing surveillance activities, sharing relevant information, detecting disease trends over time and evaluating control strategies.
However, given the recurring incidence of Influenza like Illnesses (ILI) like H1N1, H5N1, SARS and suspected Ebola, it is high time the government put in place an effective disease control system. It may be recalled that H1N1 had become endemic across the state a couple of years ago resulting in death of a large number of people. In 2015, 90 deaths and 900 cases were reported in the state
With the state having a high population of elderly people, diabetics, people with cardiac problems and other life style diseases, a sizeable section is vulnerable to influenza like illnesses. It may be recalled that of the 40 persons who died due to H1N1 last year,13 were diabetic and around 25 people had other ailments.
It is in this backdrop the experts suggest setting up of a Centre for Disease Control. "Such a centre is the need of the hour. It can effectively coordinate disease control activities across the state, strictly enforce hospital infection control protocol, set up isolation wards at a short notice, stock up medicines, arrange safety kits including masks, protective clothing for medical staff, set up master control room and link it with district monitoring cells," said health activist Dr P S Jinesh. Experts say doctors should go for differential diagnosis when they come across patients with cough, cold and fever or symptoms of influenza type illnesses. The government needs to focus on upgrading laboratory facilities to expedite investigations of samples at the local level.
