Seasonal diseases on the prowl in Kadapa district

Kadapa: With the arrival of rainy season, people of Kadapa district face the threat from various seasonal diseases like malaria, diarrhoea, typhoid, jaundice, and communicable diseases. This kind of situation prevail every rainy season. But officials fail to take up precautionary measures.

Especially, the situation is bad in rural areas due to poor sanitation and lack of coordination between key departments like Medical & Health, Rural Water Supply (RWS) and Panchayat Raj.

Forty per cent of children in the age group of 4 to 8  years and 20 per cent among elders in the age group 50 to 65 years are suffering with throat infections and breathing related problems, as per the outpatient (0P) records of the government hospitals.

People in several villages are compelled to consume contaminated water due leakage in pipelines. The RWS officials are not taking steps for cleaning of water tanks, villagers complain. 

Seasonal and communicable  diseases are on the rise in many mandals due to changes in the climate and due poor sanitary conditions. More than 1,000 cases were treated  in the RIMS, and about 50 cases were reported in the Primary Health Centres (PHC’s) every month during rain season in the district It may be recalled that 6 people belonging to Rajampet, Railway Kodur, Sambepalli, Rayachoti mandals  were dead reportedly while undergoing treatment for ‘swine flu’ at various private hospitals in  the last two years. 

There are 72 Primary Health Centres (PHC’s) , 430 Sub Centres, 10 Urban Health Centres, 12  Community Health Centres (CHC’s) , and RIMS,  6 hospitals under Viadya Vidhana Parishad (VVP) in the district.  Even though there are number private and public hospitals available, huge crowds rush to government hospitals. 

When contacted by Hans India DM&HO N.UmaSundari  said in  view of coming rainy season, administration  is initiating all precautionary measures to prevent the spread of seasonal diseases. Broaches would be distributed  pertaining to the steps to be taken to prevent diseases. Awareness camps are being conducted in the villages to motivate the people to take precautionary measures.