HBV: private clinics, labs under scanner
PATHANAMTHITTA, May 8, 2012
The Health Department has launched an inspection and thorough screening of private clinics and clinical laboratories in the district in the wake of Hepatitis-B Virus (HBV) infection spreading in Pramadom panchayat and surrounding villages.
District Medical Officer Laila Divakar said a door-to-door survey to identify the number of HBV infection cases was fast progressing at Pramadom and surrounding areas from where a good number of cases had been reported during the past few weeks.
According to the Dr. Divakar and Deputy DMO in charge of communicable diseases L. Anithakumari, a total of 12 clinically confirmed HBV cases have been reported from the district, most of them from Pramadom, Thengumkavu, and Mallasserry areas this year.
As many as 50 unconfirmed cases of HBV infection too had been reported from the area. The actual number of cases was much higher, said a local health worker.
An expert team from Alappuzha had conducted inspection in the affected areas recently and the study report was expected soon, said the DMO and Dy.DMO.
There were also complaints regarding the sterilisation practices followed at certain private clinics, clinical laboratories, and barber shops in the affected areas. Two clinics in the affected areas had been closed by the inspection squad of the Health Department for lack of proper sterilisation facility, they said.
The department was also planning a mass immunisation programme for children below the age of 10 years in the affected areas, they said.
Immunisation of adults would also be carried out with financial support from the concerned local self-government institution. The Pramadom grama panchyat had sanctioned Rs.25,000 for the adult immunisation programme, they said.
Sanitation drive
The grama panchayats and municipalities would carry out a day-long pre-monsoon sanitation drive across the district on May 17 in an effort to prevent vector-borne as well as waterborne communicable diseases, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said.
Mr. Prakash was addressing a district-level meeting of officials and people's representatives to review the arrangements to check spread of communicable diseases during the ensuing monsoon period.
The Minister stressed the need to ensure effective participation of the people as well as students in the cleaning drive. Mr. Prakash directed the DMO to set up a special task force to check spreading of HBV infection in the district. He said free clinical investigation facility for HBV would be made available at the District Hospital.
District panchayat president Babu George said the panchayat had allotted Rs.28,500 to all grama panchayats through the sanitation mission.
Many panchayat authorities had stressed the need to ensure foolproof sterilisation methods at various private clinics and clinical laboratories in the wake of the alleged reuse of syringes without proper sterilisation.
Similarly, the health inspection team had also reportedly found that the hygiene at almost all barber shops in the affected areas was poor and alarming. Many of them were found to have been using the same blade for one or two days, without even properly cleaning the shaving instrument, alleged a panchayat president.
Copyright © 2012, The Hindu
