Kozhikode: Two of the cholera-afflicted persons who were being treated at the government medical college hospital were discharged on Saturday. There were six cases reported, including two confirmed, all of them migrant labourers of Thengilakkadavu in Mavoor panchayat. District medical officer Dr. V. Jayashree said that chlorination and screening in the area would continue on alternate days.
“We will expand the work to areas where there is a sizable migrant population. Already there is focused work in such areas, but it would be strengthened,” she said. It was found that there were no basic facilities for the 20 migrant labourers crammed in a two-storey building at Thengilakkadavu. “After cholera was reported, the owner of the house complained that there was no sufficient water or toilet facilities for a large number of people,” said a health officer. Health department has blamed the local panchayat authorities for not taking action against accommodating a large number of people in unhygienic surroundings.
Additional DMO Dr Ashadevi said the problem should be tackled jointly by the health and labour departments and the local self- government institution concerned. On Saturday, as many as 1617 cases of fever were reported, according to the district medical office. The patients registered include 125 suspected and 44 confirmed cases of dengue, a suspected case of hepatitis A and two suspected cases of diphtheria. As many as 179 acute diarrhoeal disease cases were also reported besides a case each of malaria and chicken pox.
