THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rat fever, which used to be reported more from the districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha in the past, has assumed epidemic proportions in the northern districts of the state this year. However, the total affected cases in the state remain lower than last years while the number of deaths due to rat fever is almost the same. Leptospirosis, or rat fever, which is a totally curable disease with simple antibiotics, has claimed one more life in the state on Thursday, taking the toll to 41 during the current year. Five new cases were reported on Thursday, one from Malappuram, 3 from Thrissur and 1 from Kollam, taking the total number of rat-fever affected persons to 61 in the month of September. ‘’We will be focusing on early diagnosis and treatment as it will save a lot of lives. At the primary prevention level, the ASHA workers will create an awareness on environmental hygiene, the need for drinking boiled water and so on. The doctors and field staff are being given an orientation programme on how to fight the disease,’’ said director of Health Services P K Jameela. The Health Department has acted on a war-footing with the Health Minister Adoor Prakash convening an emergency meeting in Kozhikode of all senior health officials in the state right from the Director of Health Services to all the medical officers of the Malabar region. “The major problem with treatment of rat fever is that the patients come very late for treatment. It is very important to consult doctors as soon as fever sets in. Treatment protocols for rat fever has been sent to all hospitals, including private hospitals and medicines have also been stocked at all the hospitals,’’ said additional director of Health Services, Dr N Sreedhar. While there are a few cases of the disease reported from every district, it has created an alarming situation in the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, Thrissur and Ernakulam. The maximum number of suspected rat fever cases in one week has been reported from Kozhikode, where 27 suspected cases and five deaths have been reported. However, officials at the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP), which keeps a daily update of the incidence of communicable diseases, said that the number of rat fever cases was actually lesser than what was reported last year. The sudden spurt in the numbers they said was due to piling up of suspected cases during holidays and the days of hartal. The rat fever, if untreated, can lead to liver trouble leading to jaundice and failure of kidneys, which is often the cause of death.There are also chances that the jaundice caused by rat fever getting confused with jaundice caused by Hepatitis. Ernakulam district, especially the high ranges bordering Idukki and Kottayam, have been affected by an outbreak of Hepatitis as well. Of the 100 suspected cases of Hepatitis in Ernakulam and Kottayam each, 89 have been confirmed to be Hepatitis A in Ernakulam and 86 in Kottayam.Nine new suspected cases have been reported from Kottayam. Cholera has also made an appearance in the state, even though not in the form of an epidemic. One case each of Cholera have been reported from Wayanad and Kozhikode in the last one week. However, there are no new cases on Thursday.
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