By The Hindu Bureau

Copyright thehindu

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said the State’s Health department has been blindsided by the worrying recurrence of cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis, a water-borne disease with a relatively high mortality rate and poor prognosis.

Participating in the adjournment debate in the Assembly on Wednesday on the public anxiety about the disease, Mr. Satheesan said the parasitic disease has claimed 69 lives in Kerala so far this year. The victims included a four-month-old infant. “The government lacked a treatment protocol, despite the profoundly worrying public health threat. It remained clueless about the disease’s provenance and its spread across the State,” he said.

Mr Satheesan stated that initially, the Health department hypothesised that the parasite thrived in stagnant and muddy water bodies, ill-maintained swimming pools, and perhaps wells and ponds.

He said a significant section of the population uses untreated water sources, including wells and ponds, for their daily needs, and their worry was palpable, especially in rural areas lacking piped water supply.

He said the disease appeared not to be a pandemic. Nevertheless, more cases are sprouting across the State, most recently in Palakkad. It seems to afflict all age groups, Mr. Satheesan noted, adding that the disease has worryingly announced its presence in urban areas.

He stated that the Australian government first identified the presence of the disease in 1965. Globally, the infection has claimed 500 deaths, including in the US and Australia.

However, he stated, Kerala appeared poised to surpass the grim figures. “Eight people died from the parasitic infection in the past eight days alone. The spread of the disease and the lack of a strategy to deal with it seems portentous for Kerala”, he added.

‘Govt failed to launch awareness campaign’

He said the government has failed to launch an awareness campaign to encourage people to take protective steps.

“The government should enlist the help of expert agencies at the national and international level to mitigate the grave public health threat, given the health department’s apparent incompetence in amoebic meningoencephalitis management”, he added.

Mr Satheesan sought to berate the ruling front for accusing the Opposition Bench of using public concern over the disease as a foil to portray Kerala’s public health system in a poor light.

“The Treasury Bench accused the Opposition of propping up the corporate private health care sector by questioning the State’s approach to managing the worrying disease. Would it please the government if the Opposition had remained silent in the Assembly about the public’s anxiety over the disease recurrence?” he asked.