By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Several states, including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Karnataka, have sprung into action and have put their healthcare infrastructure on alert after the centre issued a directive to review preparedness in the wake of a surge in respiratory illnesses, especially among children, in China.
The other states that have put their health infrastructure on alert mode include Haryana and Uttarakhand.
The centre had issued a directive on Sunday and had directed the states to be alert and to review their preparedness to tackle such illnesses.
Following the advisory, several states stepped up their surveillance and reviewed their hospital preparedness.
In Rajasthan, the state medical and health department has directed its personnel to stay vigilant and set up rapid response teams. It has also asked its officials to devise a plan for preventing and treating the disease.
ALSO READ | Respiratory illness: Centre sounds alert in wake of surge in numbers in China
The state has also instructed its officials to prepare an action plan and appoint nodal officers at district and medical college levels and also establish rapid response teams at division and district levels.
The state is also set to carry out a mock drill to ascertain the capacity of its health facilities.
Following the centre’s advisory to assess its hospital preparedness, the Gujarat Health Department issued a similar advisory to all government-run hospitals and private health facilities.
Gujarat Health and Family Welfare Minister Rushikesh Patel said the state has inspected oxygen tanks, ventilators, and availability of beds.
The Karnataka health department has also issued an advisory advising people to be cautious of the seasonal flu. Creating awareness about the respiratory illness, the department listed the symptoms and risk factors of seasonal flu and also issued dos and don’ts. These include covering the mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing, frequent washing of hands, avoiding touching the face, and using masks in crowded areas.
ALSO READ | China says surge in respiratory illnesses is caused by flu and ‘other known pathogens’
The Uttarakhand government directed its officials to step up surveillance in the state, especially in three districts – Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh – that share borders with China.
In Tamil Nadu, government-run and private hospitals have been issued similar directions to boost hospital preparedness.
The state health department said that while the southern state hasn’t reported any child pneumonia cases yet, officials have been asked to keep vigil as a precautionary measure.
The hospitals have been asked to report cases of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), critical respiratory infection and influenza-like illness in the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme-Integrated Health Information Platform portal.
In a statement, the health ministry had said that given the recent reports indicating a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China in recent weeks, the ministry has proactively decided to review the preparedness measures against respiratory diseases as a matter of abundant caution.
“This is noted to be important given the ongoing influenza and winter season that increases in respiratory illness cases,” the ministry said. It added that it monitored the situation in the neighbouring country and stressed there was “no cause for any alarm at the moment.”
Clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children have been reported in northern China. Authorities have attributed this to the circulation of various pathogens such as mycoplasma pneumonia – a bacteria that’s not as infectious as a virus like Covid-19.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the spike in respiratory illnesses that China is currently witnessing is not as high as before the COVID-19 pandemic. It reiterated that no new or unusual pathogens had been found in the recent cases.
Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, said the increase appeared to be driven by a rise in the number of children contracting pathogens they had avoided during two years of Covid-19 restrictions. Follow channel on WhatsApp
NEW DELHI: Several states, including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Karnataka, have sprung into action and have put their healthcare infrastructure on alert after the centre issued a directive to review preparedness in the wake of a surge in respiratory illnesses, especially among children, in China.
The other states that have put their health infrastructure on alert mode include Haryana and Uttarakhand.
The centre had issued a directive on Sunday and had directed the states to be alert and to review their preparedness to tackle such illnesses.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Following the advisory, several states stepped up their surveillance and reviewed their hospital preparedness.
In Rajasthan, the state medical and health department has directed its personnel to stay vigilant and set up rapid response teams. It has also asked its officials to devise a plan for preventing and treating the disease.
ALSO READ | Respiratory illness: Centre sounds alert in wake of surge in numbers in China
The state has also instructed its officials to prepare an action plan and appoint nodal officers at district and medical college levels and also establish rapid response teams at division and district levels.
The state is also set to carry out a mock drill to ascertain the capacity of its health facilities.
Following the centre’s advisory to assess its hospital preparedness, the Gujarat Health Department issued a similar advisory to all government-run hospitals and private health facilities.
Gujarat Health and Family Welfare Minister Rushikesh Patel said the state has inspected oxygen tanks, ventilators, and availability of beds.
The Karnataka health department has also issued an advisory advising people to be cautious of the seasonal flu. Creating awareness about the respiratory illness, the department listed the symptoms and risk factors of seasonal flu and also issued dos and don’ts. These include covering the mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing, frequent washing of hands, avoiding touching the face, and using masks in crowded areas.
ALSO READ | China says surge in respiratory illnesses is caused by flu and ‘other known pathogens’
The Uttarakhand government directed its officials to step up surveillance in the state, especially in three districts – Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh – that share borders with China.
In Tamil Nadu, government-run and private hospitals have been issued similar directions to boost hospital preparedness.
The state health department said that while the southern state hasn’t reported any child pneumonia cases yet, officials have been asked to keep vigil as a precautionary measure.
The hospitals have been asked to report cases of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), critical respiratory infection and influenza-like illness in the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme-Integrated Health Information Platform portal.
In a statement, the health ministry had said that given the recent reports indicating a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China in recent weeks, the ministry has proactively decided to review the preparedness measures against respiratory diseases as a matter of abundant caution.
“This is noted to be important given the ongoing influenza and winter season that increases in respiratory illness cases,” the ministry said. It added that it monitored the situation in the neighbouring country and stressed there was “no cause for any alarm at the moment.”
Clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children have been reported in northern China. Authorities have attributed this to the circulation of various pathogens such as mycoplasma pneumonia – a bacteria that’s not as infectious as a virus like Covid-19.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the spike in respiratory illnesses that China is currently witnessing is not as high as before the COVID-19 pandemic. It reiterated that no new or unusual pathogens had been found in the recent cases.
Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, said the increase appeared to be driven by a rise in the number of children contracting pathogens they had avoided during two years of Covid-19 restrictions. Follow channel on WhatsApp
