The Kozhikode Corporation has called for heightened vigil against leptospirosis and other contagious diseases during the monsoon.
Addressing reporters here on Friday, Mayor Thottathil Raveendran said leptospirosis caused the largest number of deaths in the city after last year’s floods. “These are diseases that can be prevented by taking some very simple steps, but we often ignore them,” the Mayor said. He urged people to take preventive medicines against leptospirosis if they happened to walk in dirty water or engaged in cleaning activities.
“We have supplied protective gear and preventive medicines to all those who were cleaning drains ahead of rains. Not even one worker engaged in the cleaning of Conolly Canal recently got sick as workers had taken the medicines,” he said. Education Standing Committee chairman M. Radhakrishnan said a person who had died of leptospirosis in his ward had refused to take preventive medicines even after a medical team advised him to do so.
The Mayor said the pre-monsoon cleaning drive in the city has not been completed due to the lack of cooperation from a section of the public, even as student bodies and residents’ associations had offered complete support. He asked the public to follow the instructions provided by health workers to keep vigil against contagious diseases.
“Identify waterlogged places and clear them to avoid breeding of mosquitoes; ensure cleanliness at places where migrant labourers are accomodated as they are a vulnerable group; drink only boiled water to ward off jaundice and other waterborne diseases,” the Mayor said.
Health Standing Committee chairman K.V. Baburaj said the Corporation Health Wing was prepared to meet the challenges posed by the monsoon. All hospitals and health centres had been stocked with necessary medicines, he said.