Nipah scare comes closer home, Bengal put on alert

  • | Friday | 25th May, 2018

The first Nipah outbreak in India occurred in Siliguri , close to the two north Bengal districts, in 2001; 66 people died in that outbreak. “Health officials and workers, as well as all hospitals, have been asked to act immediately in case a patient is suspected to have the virus. They will, in turn, sensitise their subordinates and grassroots workers.“Our department is on alert,” Nadia CMOH Tapas Kumar Roy said. Their travel history will also be collected to ascertain whether they have been to the affected zone,” said a senior health official. “We discussed how to share information on the virus and what we can do to safeguard ourselves,” he added.

Plan to step up vigil in view of outbreak in south India: Official KOLKATA: The state health department issued its first advisory on Nipah virus on Thursday for all district administrations, health officials and hospitals across Bengal, putting them on alert and asking them to watch out for symptoms of the virus in patients and record their travel history.But, even before the advisory came, three districts — two in north Bengal ( Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar ) and one in south Bengal (Nadia)—held official meetings to review the Nipah situation. The first Nipah outbreak in India occurred in Siliguri , close to the two north Bengal districts, in 2001; 66 people died in that outbreak. Nadia saw an outbreak in 2007, in which five persons died.The Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar meetings, convened by the chief medical officers of health (CMOHs) of the two districts, sensitised senior district officials on the symptoms of the disease and the measures that ought to be taken to prevent it. The district administration of Nadia, too, is gearing up with preventive measures.The district health department organised a workshop last Monday to review the situation and lay down precautionary measures.The two north Bengal meetings were held to put the two district administrations on alert since the 2001 Nipah outbreak claimed 66 lives in Siliguri in 2001, Coochbehar CMOH Sumit Ganguly said.“A surveillance programme launched after the outbreak still continues. Screening programmes are carried out at regular intervals. We are planning to step up vigil since there has been an outbreak in south India,” Ganguly said. The meetings were attended by subdivisional officers and block development officers of Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar. They will, in turn, sensitise their subordinates and grassroots workers.“Our department is on alert,” Nadia CMOH Tapas Kumar Roy said. “We discussed how to share information on the virus and what we can do to safeguard ourselves,” he added. Vigil had been stepped up in Nadia following the outbreak in Kerala, he said. “We will organise awareness camps on the virus in different parts of the district and have already roped in health officials and workers apart from Asha workers, who will keep a watch on those returning from Kerala”, Roy added. A large number of people from Nadia work as construction labourers in Kerala and other southern states.The health department advisory, on the other hand, said those travelling from the affected zone with signs of the deadly virus should immediately be quarantined and screened. “Health officials and workers, as well as all hospitals, have been asked to act immediately in case a patient is suspected to have the virus. Their travel history will also be collected to ascertain whether they have been to the affected zone,” said a senior health official.

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