Thiruvananthapuram: As floodwaters recede, Kerala is witnessing a spike in diseases brought about by the calamity.

Five people died of rat fever in the state on Sunday, taking the death toll to 26. Three deaths were reported from Kozhikode - Salim Sha of Mukkam, Sumesh from Vengeri and Ujesh of Vatakara. While one death was reported from Malappuram - Sreedevi of Chamravattom, another person, 51-year-old Kumari, died at Perumbavoor in Ernakulam.

On Saturday, three north-central districts and low-lying Alappuzha reported a total of nine casualties owing to the illness caused by human contact with water laced with urine of rodents.

Most number of deaths were reported from Kozhikode. Thrissur and Malappuram are the other neighbouring districts that reported fatalities due to rat fever after the deluge following the heavy rain in August, according to health department sources.

More people are falling prey to the disease. On Saturday, 26 people from Kozhikode district were diagnosed to be suffering from rat fever. Another 17 are showing the disease's symptoms such as chill, fever, vomiting, headaches and muscle pain besides red eyes and sometimes jaundice.

An alert has been sounded for six districts - Thiruvananthapuram Kozhikode, Palakkad, Malappuram, Pathanamthitta and Kannur.

Since August 1 till September 1, as many as 269 people took treatment for the disease at medical colleges across the state. Kottayam district, adjoining Alappuzha, had 40 rat fever patients so far this monsoon.

Last month, 559 people took treatment for rat fever across the state. Of them, the disease was confirmed in 229 cases. These are besides cases of jaundice and dengue fever being reported from several parts of the state.

Treatment protocol

The Kerala health department has issued a treatment protocol in the wake of the spread of rat fever. Rescue workers and volunteers involved in operations against the disease are to necessarily consume the prevention pill Doxycycline 200 mg once a week. The antibiotic will be provided free through separate counters.

Health minister K K Shylaja said contagious diseases were on the rise in post-flood Kerala. The most acute among them is rat fever. Given its spread, penicillin is being made available at taluk hospitals across the state.

Those showing the symptoms of the disease would first be given prevention pills without waiting for the test results. Private hospitals, too, will follow such a procedure, Shylaja stated.

“The next 30 days are going to be critical,” she added. “Those in flood-affected areas should get in touch with the health officials.”

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