Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Sep 5: Dakshina Kannada district health surveillance officer Dr Praveen Kumar has informed that 17 rat fever cases were reported in the city during July this year. Therefore he has urged the people to take precautionary measures against getting infected with this disease.
Giving this information at a press meet he addressed in the city on Wednesday, September 4, Kumar expressed satisfaction at the fact that the department has been able to exercise some grip over dengue fever cases in the district. He expressed the concern about the increasing incidence of rat fever, also known as leptospirosis. He stated that this fever is caused by the bacteria known as liptospira. He said that this bacteria spreads through the urine of animals into the human bodies. He also mentioned that malaria cases are also being reported of late.
"This disease can be completely cured through systematic treatment. Even though infection of this fever can spread to heart, lungs and kidneys, such cases are very rare. Still, when symptoms of this infection is observed, people should not delay in getting the same treated. As this disease does not spread from the patient to healthy persons, there is no need to keep the patients away from others," he explained. The urine of some domestic animals and some wild animals can get into water, contaminate it, and enter the bodies through wounds, mouth, nose and eyes, he noted.
Dr Kumar said that even though swine flu (H1N1) is also affecting some people, there is no need to feel panicky about it. However, he told the people that they should be cautious.
Dr Navinchandra Kulal, district control officer for vector borne diseases, said that the number of people getting treated for dengue has been coming down, and that so far, 1957 confirmed dengue cases have been reported from January to August this year in the district. At the same time, the number of malaria cases reported happens to be 1,341, he stated. He said that about 60 percent of dengue cases and 90 percent of malaria cases were reported from within the city corporation limits. "Refrigerator trays, flower pots, window gaps in the roof and verandah etc are the places where the larvae of Aedes mosquitoes were found during checks conducted in houses. He said that malaria spreads through mosquitoes which breed in the stagnated fresh water in the vicinity of houses. Observing that such larvae were found in some open wells in the city, he said releasing guppy fishes can control mosquito breeding.