T’gana looks at Kerala on ways to curb spread
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:WITH coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases rising in the country, some states have approached Kerala to find out how the state managed to contain India’s first three cases and has so far reported no other instances.
A team from Telangana comprising doctors and health officials arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday to study the state’s monitoring and surveillance system. Teams from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh are also expected to arrive soon, a Kerala health ministry official said, requesting anonymity.
The Telangana team met state health minister, KK Shailaja, and visited some of the hospitals and attended review meetings in the state capital. During the discussion, health officials described the protocol, surveillance and contact-tracing methods used.
Union Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, has asked all states to follow the Kerala model in tackling the virus. Union cabinet secretary, Rajiv Gauba, has also lauded the state’s efforts in containing the virus.
India’s first three cases of Covid-19 were reported in the state and all three patients, who were students back from China, were discharged after being cured. Effective isolation and monitormaterial, ing mechanism and strict adherence to guidelines issued during the Nipah virus outbreak two years ago helped the state to tide over the crisis.
“We are happy to share our experience and strategy with other states. Though there is some let up in the situation, we are maintaining strict alert. We are holding review meetings every day and video conference with all district medical officers,” said Shailaja, adding it is still premature for the state to lower its guard. She said Kerala has extended help to other states.
The state was in battle-mode after the detection of the first case on Jan 30. Isolation wards in at least 200 hospitals were ready in a few days and health workers were trained for barrier nursing to prevent secondary infection.
PROTECTION, WHEN NEEDED
The risk of infection is highest for the immediate family and health staff, who are often exposed to infection before the disease is diagnosed, as in the case of Lini Puthussery, 28, the nurse who died of the Nipah virus disease after getting infected while treating patient zero and his family in 2018 during an outbreak in Kerala, which claimed 17 lives.
Personal protection equipment includes face shields, gloves, glasses, gowns, head covers, masks, respirators, and shoe covers that are used to protect both the health worker and the patient from cross-infection through droplets, contact, and during high-risk activities such as placing patients on ventilators or collecting sputum and blood samples for testing.
Medical staff at hospitals take all infection-control measures, but only when needed. “All staff in the waiting area of the pulmonary
UNDIAGNOSED CORONAVIRUS
Even in cases of undiagnosed Covid-19, hand washing works. “Covid-19 is caused by a droplet infection, so keeping at least one metre or so away from a person who is coughing is enough. The risk is higher from infected surfaces, where the droplets land, so the best protection is washing your hands frequently with soap and water,” said Dr Harsh Mahajan, chairman, Mahajan Imaging, a diagnostic centre.
Even in case of undiagnosed Covid-19, handwashing is more effective than sanitisers, which should be a replacement for when soap and water are not available. “Sanitisers should have 60% alcohol to do the job, which means that even if you rub your hands
OFF-KILTER PROTECTION
Experts say that people tend to obsess over face masks, but forget about other sources of infection, like contaminated surfaces, which infect hands. “There a risk of infection while removing the mask or rubbing the eyes, so people must remember to avoid touching the face, and if they must, wash hands before doing so,” said Dr Ganesh.
What most of them have done is to cancel non-essential travel overseas. “At this stage, I’ve just cancelled non-essential overseas travel because getting quarantined in another country would be very inconvenient,” said Dr Nirmal K Ganguly, former director general, Indian Council of Medical Research.