flood-hit Kerala : ‘No outbreak of communicable disease reported from so far’

New Delhi:  Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday said no outbreak of communicable disease has been reported from the flood-ravaged districts of Kerala so far.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has issued health advisories to support the state in meeting with post-flood public health management challenges when the threat of water borne, vector-borne and viral hepatitis diseases becomes potent.  

According to a health ministry statement, NCDC teams are ready for deployment to support the state in preventing outbreak of diseases. 

Though rains have eased in Kerala over the last two days, the state struggled to find its feet after the devastating deluge that left 223 dead in a fortnight and forced over 10 lakh people out of their homes. 

According to the health ministry statement, since the flood situation at Kodagu district in Karnataka is worsening, one medical team from Bengaluru has been dispatched there to provide necessary support. 

The Union health minister held a high-level meeting to review the relief measures in Kerala. "The outbreak (of disease) situation is being monitored on a daily basis and the strategic health operation centre has been activated. 

No outbreak of communicable disease has been reported yet," Nadda said, adding that he was personally monitoring the situation and was in regular communication with Kerala health minister K K Shailaja. 

According to the statement, 65 metric tonnes of emergency drugs for flood situation have been airlifted by the IAF to Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, while one crore chlorine tablets have been sent and another one crore are in transit. 

The total request of four crore chlorine tablets will be met in phases, it said. The health ministry has further mobilized 20 MT of bleaching powder which is being sent by road. Of this, 10 MT would reach on Tuesday and another 10 MT would arrive there on Wednesday. 

Additionally, 12 public health teams have already been constituted, one each for all the worst-affected districts, and they are ready for deployment on request of the state.