Nalanda gears up to tackle AES, JE and heatwave

Biharsharif: Nalanda district magistrate (DM) Kundan Kumar on Wednesday chaired a review meeting with officials of the district health department to assess preparedness for prevention and management of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and heatwave conditions.

During the meeting, civil surgeon Dr Jai Prakash Singh informed the DM that adequate medical arrangements have been put in place at all levels of healthcare facilities. A 10-bed AES PICU ward has been made operational at the sadar hospital, while five-bed AES wards equipped with mosquito nets have been set up at sub-divisional hospitals. At the block level, two-bed AES wards with mosquito nets have also been established to ensure prompt treatment.

Officials said several rounds of training have been conducted for health personnel to deal with AES cases. At the state level, training was provided to hospital managers, district epidemiologists, programme coordinators, medical officers and paramedical staff. At the district level, master trainers have trained health workers and frontline staff.

According to the health department, 39 medical officers, 49 paramedical staff, 16 block community managers, over 750 ASHA workers and facilitators, and several ambulance personnel have been trained in AES response and patient management. Additional training programmes are currently being conducted at the block level.