Coordinated health alert
With the Death of a patient on Sunday, meningitis has claimed it’s first victim in Chandigarh. More than a dozen have already died in Delhi. The disease is highly infectious so this region has reason to worry. Remedial steps are immediately necessary. Most parts of the region, including Chandigarh, which have good connectivity with the national capital, run the risk of the killer bacteria spreading to the area. Already four patients, who are believed to have contracted the infection in Delhi, are under treatment in Chandigarh - three at the PGI and one in the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital. One of them is reportedly from Himachal Pradesh. Another person is reportedly admitted in Rohtak. The disease was last reported in such measure about 10 years ago. It is transmitted by direct contact with respiratory droplets from nose and throat (which could occur during coughing and sneezing) of infected persons. Like in most diseases, those with weak immune systems run greater risk of catching the infection, which manifests in high fever, headache and body rashes.
Luckily, as soon as first reports of the killer disease started pouring in, precautionary steps were taken. In Chandigarh, the Director of Health Services called a meeting of doctors to discuss steps that needed to be taken. Isolation wards have been created in Sector 16 and Sector 32 hospitals. Ambulance services have also been made available. Similarly in other towns like Ludhiana, Health Department officials have chalked out a strategy to deal with the problem. However, these steps taken in isolation are not enough, because the disease could spread. There is thus need for a joint strategy by Health authorities in the entire region. In the Chandigarh region, a control room should be set up in Chandigarh which would monitor cases coming with meningitis-like symptoms in nearby towns like Panchkula, SAS Nagar, Kharar and Zirakpur. Since there is also a lot of movement of defence personnel to and from Chandigarh, UT officials should establish contact with the Command Hospital in Chandimandir too. Similarly, Health authorities in Punjab and Haryana should monitor the situation on a day-to-day basis at the state level since many trains have facilitated daily movement of people from Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Ambala to Delhi and back.
What is crucial is awareness, particularly because the symptoms of the disease (skin rash, fever and headache) are common. While people traveling on popular trains to Delhi like the Shatabdi should be made aware of the problem, there is need for greater vigil in congested areas and slum colonies of the region. In Delhi, most of the patients came from the congested walled city. Since children are more susceptible, there is need to sound an alert in schools. The UT Health Department should establish constant contact with Delhi so that it is not taken by surprise at any stage. A daily health bulletin should be given till the problem passes so that there is no panic. Telephone numbers of places where help is available should be well advertised. Officials should go into the background of each of the cases reported so that officials at the place where the infection may have been contracted, can be sounded. Some of these steps may appear to be an over-reaction. But, unless systems are in place, it would be extremely difficult to prevent spread of the disease when the situation worsens.
{{/usCountry}}What is crucial is awareness, particularly because the symptoms of the disease (skin rash, fever and headache) are common. While people traveling on popular trains to Delhi like the Shatabdi should be made aware of the problem, there is need for greater vigil in congested areas and slum colonies of the region. In Delhi, most of the patients came from the congested walled city. Since children are more susceptible, there is need to sound an alert in schools. The UT Health Department should establish constant contact with Delhi so that it is not taken by surprise at any stage. A daily health bulletin should be given till the problem passes so that there is no panic. Telephone numbers of places where help is available should be well advertised. Officials should go into the background of each of the cases reported so that officials at the place where the infection may have been contracted, can be sounded. Some of these steps may appear to be an over-reaction. But, unless systems are in place, it would be extremely difficult to prevent spread of the disease when the situation worsens.
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