After an interval of two years a Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD or Monkey Fever) death was reported in Wayanad district on Sunday.
Sundaran, 27, of the Begur tribal hamlet on the Kerala-Karnataka border died of KFD at the Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode.
Sundaran was admitted to the District Hospital at Mananthavady a week ago with symptoms of Monkey Fever. Later he was referred to the MCH.
“As many as 10 suspected KFD cases were reported in the district this year, of which five cases confirmed. Meanwhile, two persons, including a woman, admitted to the District hospital a few days ago, of which a case was referred to the MCH,” R. Renuka, District Medical Officer said. However, the condition of the patients was stable, Dr. Renuka added.
Speaking to The Hindu Wayanad District Collector A.R. Ajayakumar said there was no need for panic as all steps had been taken to tackle the outbreak of the disease in the district.
“We are closely monitoring the situation for the past two months and various measures, including vaccination drives, awareness programmes in human settlements adjacent to forest and regular review meetings, have been taken to combat the spread of the disease,” Mr. Ajayakumar said.
The district administration also directed Animal Husbandry Department officials to ensure the stock of ointments to apply on cattle to curb the spread of ticks. Health authorities were directed to report the progress of daily activities to the KFD cell functioning at the Collectorate everyday.
Protection steps
Those living on the fringes of forest areas, especially where the outbreak of the disease was reported earlier, have been asked to adopt personal protection measures including gloves and gumboots as well as to apply repellent lotions before they enter the forest.
According to the official data available with the Health Department, the first outbreak of the disease was reported in the district in 2013 with one case.
The disease wreaked havoc in the district in 2015 when 102 cases were reported and 11 persons died of the disease. Nine cases were reported in 2016. Though two suspected cases were reported in 2017, not a single case was reported last year.
