Kerala: 7,000 ‘cases’ of chikungunya since Jan

The Kerala Government today admitted that at least 7,000 people in the state who went to government hospitals over the last four months had “shown symptoms” of chikungunya.

The Kerala Government today admitted that at least 7,000 people in the state who went to government hospitals over the last four months had “shown symptoms” of chikungunya.

Briefing the media, Health Minister P K Sreemathy, however, added that she cannot either deny or confirm whether there have been deaths directly attributable to chikungunya so far. Some 49 people had died owing to fever-related complications in the state in the last three weeks. The Minister said some four lakh people had sought treatment for various fever-related ailments in government hospitals, since January.

The Minister conceded that apart from chinkungunya, other vector-borne afflictions like dengue and malaria were now stalking various parts of the state on a lesser scale and the actual incidence is being verified. That is apart from several cases of Weil’s disease (rat fever) that have surfaced in several districts over the last fortnight.

Story continues below this ad

The Government today opened a diseases control room in Thiruvananthapuram and surveillance cells in six of the state’s worst-hit districts. It also roped in help from homeo and ayurveda practitioners to contain the blights.

“We are doing everything that is humanly possible,” the Minister claimed, even as the state’s only virology institute in Alapuzha, capable of detecting chikungunya cases, has waited for fresh stocks of detection kits, after it ran out of them a couple of days ago.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (Image: Piyush Goyal X/File Photo)

India, US start drafting trade deal; US delegation likely to visit India: Official

Business7 hr ago

India and the US are in talks to finalize a trade deal following successful negotiations in Washington. India's Commerce Minister has stated that any deal will prioritize national interest and explore new markets. He also stressed the importance of making decisions in the best interest of the country, rather than under pressure.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS