Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (SK)
Mangaluru, Jun 26: District health officer (DHO) Dr Kishore Kumar said, “People should take precautionary measures and be aware of various vector-borne diseases.”
Addressing media at the ‘Meet the Press’ event here on Monday June 26, Dr Kishore Kumar said, “Vector-borne diseases are becoming more prevalent in our district. The infrequent occurrence of rain is the primary cause of the spread of malaria. Monsoon season is a challenging period as mosquitoes breed in stagnant water.
“As many as 56 malaria cases and 24 cases of dengue are registered in the district. If the public is aware of their responsibility, this will help us to make Karnataka free of malaria by 2025.
“By ignoring stagnant water in the surroundings, humans have entirely contributed to the spread of malaria.
“Larva survey is made to systematically search for stored water that can breed mosquitoes and awareness will be given to the people. We will also instruct the teachers to raise awareness on vector-borne diseases to students at schools and colleges.
“The most frequent location where mosquitoes breed are construction sites. In order to reduce this, construction workers will be given mosquito nets.
“A person suffering from malaria will have common symptoms which could be identified and treated. The symptoms in malaria are high temperature, headache, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. There is no immediate cure for dengue. The D2 variant is a stronger version of the dengue variants. Early treatment can reduce the fatality rate. The symptoms seen in the D2 variant are high fever, altered sensorium, vomiting and joint pains,” he said.
Speaking on the cases of typhoid, he said, “As many as 23 cases of typhoid are registered in the district. Our district has been affected with typhoid not only this year, but every year. Last year, there were 138 typhoid cases in the district. Typhoid is a water-borne disease and a bacterial infection which spreads through contaminated water. The symptoms are low fever, vomit and tiredness. It spreads from human to human and hence we need to maintain hand hygiene, and hygiene while using washrooms. The 23 cases are not in a cluster but scattered across the district. Two patients were admitted and are completely stable. In typhoid cases, hospital admission will be for complete bed rest with a planned diet. People need to take all kinds of preventive measures,” he said.
Malaria control officer Dr Naveen Chandra, and journalists Srinivas Nayak Indaje and Jithendra Kundeshwar was also present.