Fever patients and their treatment

In the state, about 10,000 people visit government hospitals daily due to fever and respiratory problems. Almost as many people seek treatment in private hospitals as well. Widespread fever is believed to be an aftereffect of covid. A scientific study in this regard should be initiated by the health department. Health experts point out that the H3N2 virus belonging to the influenza-A category is present in the state. This causes severe cough and other health problems. Although it does not cause much problem in young people, it can cause complications in older people who have other diseases. According to the government, 72,953 people have sought treatment for fever so far this month alone. 5.84 lakh fever cases have been reported so far this year.

Increasing temperatures and climate change are also believed to be contributing to disease outbreaks. Doctors say that people who consume a lot of cold water due to the extreme heat of the day and are exposed to the midday sun are more likely to suffer from fever. People with fever should definitely wear masks, but most do not. A highly contagious type of fever is spreading now. A situation prevails that if one person in a household gets a fever, everyone gets it. Apart from this, Leptospirosis (rat fever) is also spreading as a silent killer in the state. 31 Leptospirosis deaths were reported in the first two months of this year. So far 241 people have been confirmed with rat fever. 365 people have been diagnosed with similar symptoms. Last year, 300 people died of Leptospirosis in the state.

As the number of fever patients increases, government hospitals should increase the facilities to deal with it. In some government hospitals, there is a shortage of medicines, including paracetamol, forcing poor patients to buy medicines from private medical stores. As the number of Covid patients decreased, the government also reduced the quantity of medicines purchased for the hospitals. Although the number of fever patients is increasing day by day, the purchase of medicine has not increased. The Minister of Health should intervene and make immediate changes to this. There is also a complaint that medicine is not being received from the Kerala Medical Service Corporation despite the payment. The government should also look into these matters.