Effective fever screening will ensure early diagnosis-treatment: DPH

CHENNAI: More than 2.27 lakh people have been screened at fever camps held by the State Health Department on March 10. Of these, 2,663 fever cases have been identified.

As many as 1,558 special fever camps were conducted while 2,888 camps were organised in government school premises.

The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Dr TS Selvavinayagam said, “Due to active screening of fever cases through camp, more number of cases may be reported. This will ensure early diagnosis-treatment and also prevent spread of infection.”

He stated that the individuals will be tested as per protocol and not everyone was required to undergo all the tests. The standard treatment protocols for fever cases are available based on the categorisation of the cases.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian had already assured that sufficient antiviral drugs were available with the department and that fever camps would continue as per the requirements of a particular locality. More details will be shared at the Integrated Health Information Platform portal of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of the Union Health Ministry for surveillance.

Meanwhile, officials at the State Health Department said that the current surge in COVID cases was not due to any new variants but mainly due to already existing SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant BA.2, and its sub-variants. The co-infection with H3N2 influenza virus were also adding up to the numbers.

As per the whole genomic sequencing of the currently prevalent cases in the State, the highest percentage is of the BA.2.10.1 sub-variant with about 29% cases, followed by 24% of XBB variant.

The BA.2 variant comprises of about 15% of all cases.

BA.5 variant cases are about 6% in the State, while the Delta variant and Ba.2.75 is prevalent 4% and 3% respectively. These remain as the most prevalent variants of the virus in the State.

Officials added, “We’re intensifying COVID testing within the State but currently, there’s no identified major outbreak in the city or Coimbatore.”

Dr P Sampath, joint director, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said that as the cases of H3N2 influenza were increasing in the State, COVID cases and flu co-infection have added to these numbers.

“The severity in most of these cases remains low but for both infections, isolation is the only way to prevent the spread. The safety protocols for both remain the same. So, use face masks and avoid crowded places,” he advised. “Senior citizens and people with comorbid conditions remain highly vulnerable and should be more cautious.”

The low coverage of booster dose of COVID vaccination among these people also makes them highly vulnerable.