‘People in large numbers are suffering from comorbidity’

LUCKNOW: The statewide surveillance drive launched by the state health department to trace the people infected with Sars-CoV-2 infection has revealed that people in large numbers are suffering from comorbidity (other diseases) including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and kidney ailments.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, additional chief secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said the state government had launched the surveillance drive for house-to-house screening in six districts of Meerut division on July 2 while the drive was launched in the districts of remaining 17 divisions on July 5. He added that while the drive in Meerut division concluded on Sunday, it will continue in other divisions till July 15.

Prasad further said 5.88 lakh surveillance teams had surveyed 2.52 crore houses and 12.95 crore people in various districts till Saturday. Along with screening people to detect symptoms of Covid infection, the teams were also preparing their profile, he said.

During the survey, the team found that 8.48 lakh people were suffering from diabetes, 2.38 lakh were patients of high blood pressure, 18,018 were infected with cancer, 54, 247 were patients of heart disease and 16,879 were in the grip of kidney ailment.

The health department has categorised the people suffering from comorbidity as high risk group that might be infected with coronavirus infection. Earlier, the teams had also traced several people suffering from influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), he said.

RECORD SAMPLES

Additional chief secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said a record 39,623 samples were tested in labs across UP on Saturday. Uttar Pradesh has so far tested 11.56 lakh samples since the start of the Covid pandemic.

“In March, merely 60 samples were tested and now we are touching the 40,000-mark today,” he added.