Thiruvananthapuram: It’s not plague, don’t pack up and leave, says IMA

Thiruvananthapuram: IMA state unit on Tuesday allayed fears surrounding Nipah virus saying that the disease was not like plague or small pox which affected lakhs of people. There is no need for any panic in the state on account of Nipah.

However, with the fatality rate being high among those infected by Nipah, adequate precautionary measures are required to be taken. In countries where NIpah surfaced, very few people contracted the infection but the death rate among the infected persons was high.

The situation in the state is under control. The possibility of Nipah infection which surfaced in the state for the second time, spreading to other places is remote. However, precautionary measures have to be taken on a war footing. The possibility of contracting infection is more among people who come into direct contact with possible virus spreading bats and infected persons.

If towns become deserted as was witnessed during Nipah attack in Kozhikode because of the fear factor then it would give an impression that the preventive and precautionary measures were not effective. Therefore people should avoid skipping offices, schools and business establishments due to Nipah scare . Using masks while attending public functions would also send wrong message.

The health professional including doctors and nursing staff are in the high risk group. Adequate information has been given to 30,000 odd doctors about the advanced treatment protocol for dealing with Nipah.

Besides, the staff and doctors have been given training to deal with Nipah cases and the precautionary measures that are required to be put in place.

IMA is also carrying out awareness programmes for the hospital staff and the patients.

The IMA has decided to provide 95 masks free of cost wherever shortage is reported.