No chikungunya case till September in Kozhikode

KOZHIKODE: The district has not reported even a single case of chikungunya till September this year. District health authorities are heaving a sigh of relief as the disease has been kept at bay despite the prevalence of the vector causing chikungunya in the district. The last confirmed case of chikungunya in the district was reported in 2014.
The situation is not different in the other Malabar districts.According to the State Integrated Disease Surveillance Project in 2016, no chikungunya cases were reported so far in the Malabar except in Wayanad district, which reported five confirmed cases. In 2015, one suspected case of chikungunya was reported each in Kannur and Kozhikode districts. One confirmed and another three suspected cases of chikungunya were reported in Kozhikode in 2013 and Malappuram had reported one suspected case in 2013. The health experts pointed out the heightened awareness among public about the dangers of mosquito and this could have made them to take precautionary measures even at home to avoid mosquito bites.
S Vinod, senior biologist of district \vector control unit, said the vector causing chikungunya is very much present in the district. "Chikungunya has not been reported in the district despite the presence of vector. The reason for zero cases of chikungunya may be due to the unavailability of kit to detect the cases. Secondly it may re-emerge after the virus mutation like in the case of Delhi,'' he said adding that may be the outbreak of dengue overshadowed chikungunya. "The people are also aware about the ill effects of piling up waste in open places and dirty water leading to elimination of mosquito breeding spots," he said.
Dr T Jayakrishnan, associate professor of community medicine department of Kozhikode Medical College, said a person, who has already been infected with chikungunya, will get lifelong immunity against the disease. "The density of mosquito population has come down in the district and it may be a cause which has resulted in non-reporting of chikungunya this year,'' he said.
District medical officer Dr R L Saritha said its difficult to say why zero cases of chikungunya are found. "Effective disposal of waste management by a section of people may be a reason and it cannot be said clearly without assessing it,'' said the DMO.