Tiruchi Corporation ramps up effort to identify index cases of diseases

Tiruchi Corporation has ramped up efforts for early detection of index cases to prevent disease outbreaks in the city.

An index case is the patient who is first noticed by a health authorities, and who indicates that an outbreak might be emerging.

Identifying an index case is necessary to ascertain the type of disease. This will help officials in taking steps to stock medication, procure chlorination and fogging supplies, and pre-emptively deploy Urban Health Workers (UHW).

Areas such as old colonies, housing tenements, slums, and other congested areas in the city where the chances of disease outbreak is high are constantly checked for disease. During this process, UHWs pay door-to-door visits and fever camps are conducted to screen any index cases. Abandoned construction sites where water stagnates under piles of trash, are checked for mosquito breeding as well. This is because construction workers and residents living near such areas are prone to infection.

After identifying such areas in the city, the Public Health department collates data from Urban Primary Health Centres, medical labs, and registered private hospitals about the number and type of cases.

This data is updated daily to the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) to plot the occurence of cases in any given area. The database is monitored by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and in tandem with the city Corporation helps identifying an index case and taking necessary steps to check the spread of disease in those areas.

“ When the index case is identified, the Public Health department is better prepared for any potential outbreak,” explained M. Vijay Chandran, City Health Officer.

Published - November 15, 2024 07:30 pm IST