Thiruvananthapuram: Fever and epidemics have already claimed 76 lives in the first five months of 2018 in Kerala, even before the onset of monsoon. An appalling total of 8.7 lakh people have sought treatment for fever, of which 28 died. While the focus now is on Nipah, all districts are reporting cases of dengue, rat fever, chicken pox, and even malaria which was eradicated from the state in the 1960s.
Most of the deaths this year have occurred in May: 40. Between January and April, the toll was 36. Fever death count remained at 13 until April.
Amid worries that monsoon might bring epidemics, the health department has stepped up on preventive measures.
Dengue fever was confirmed in 615 people, of which five people succumbed to illness. Eleven people of the 15,579 infected by chicken pox lost their lives. Rat fever or leptospirosis was reported to have affected 1,091, and 10 of them died.
Casualties of jaundice were 17, out of the 999 confirmed with the disease. A total of 1.74 lakh people sought treatment for diarrhoea, of which five of them died. H1N1 virus infected 11, while malaria was confirmed in 223 people. Japanese encephalitis affected two, while typhoid was reported for 68.
