PMC begins door-to-door surveillance to check typhoid spread
Six days after an outbreak of typhoid at Sadanandnagar building in Mangalwar Peth, PMC on Friday swung into action and began surveillance in the area
PUNE: Six days after an outbreak of typhoid was reported at Sadanandnagar, a building in Mangalwar Peth, the health department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday swung into action and began surveillance in the area to identify potential typhoid cases.
According to officials, the typhoid outbreak was reported at Sadanandnagar (building) which has over 600 houses and is located in close vicinity of the Kamala Nehru Hospital (KNH). Between June 15 and 21, as many as 20 children in the age group of two to 11 years were admitted to the paediatric ward of KNH Hospital. Out of these, 19 children are from Sadanandnagar and one child is from Kondhwa. Currently, eight children are undergoing treatment at the hospital whereas 12 children have been discharged at the request of their parents.
Hindustan Times had carried a news report titled “PMC taking it lightly despite outbreak of typhoid: activists” on June 21 highlighting the laxity on the part of the authorities while dealing with the outbreak. According to the news report, a large number of residents from Sadanandnagar with typhoid-like symptoms were referred to other hospitals or treated as patients with normal fever upon visiting KNH. Taking cognisance of the HT report, the authorities have now swung into action.
The PMC has deployed a team of over 12 people for surveillance at Sadanandnagar. The team includes zonal medical officers, ward medical officers, nurses and healthcare staff. A private non-government organisation (NGO) has also come forward to help the health officials. On Friday, the team visited as many as 591 houses and 79 people with mild symptoms of typhoid were given medicines. Six patients with severe symptoms of typhoid were referred to KNH.
Dr Suryakant Devkar, assistant health officer of the PMC, said, “We have set up a field hospital at Sadanandnagar building on Friday and have started surveillance in the area. The health team which includes nurses, doctors and paramedical staff is conducting door-to-door visits in the building. The patients with mild typhoid-like symptoms are being given medicines and called for follow-ups after a couple of days. Serious patients will be referred to the Naidu Infectious Diseases Hospital for further medical management.”
Dr Devkar informed that the samples of six patients have been taken for testing and typhoid positive patients will be sent to Naidu Hospital. “We have made independent arrangements for typhoid patients at Naidu Hospital to prevent the infection from spreading to other patients,” he said.
Typhoid is a life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. It usually spreads through contaminated food or water. Once Salmonella Typhi bacteria are ingested, they multiply and spread into the bloodstream. Late diagnosis or failure to respond to treatment may cause serious complications including cerebral dysfunction, perforation of the gut wall, gastrointestinal haemorrhage and shock. The blood culture reports of the children admitted to the paediatric ward of KNH confirmed the presence of Salmonella Typhi bacteria, officials said.
