MALAPPURAM: Three members of a family of migrant workers, belonging to Uttar Pradesh and residing in Malappuram district of north Kerala, have tested positive for malaria on Monday, prompting the state health department to intensify preventative and surveillance measures in the area.
The individuals, including a child and a woman, who reportedly arrived in Wandoor's Ambalapadi area from UP just four days ago, tested positive for the vector-borne disease, the officials confirmed. They have been admitted to an isolated ward in the Wandoor hospital following the detection.
The detection has led to immediate action by the local health authorities to contain any possible spread of the disease. Joint teams of health department officials, including health inspectors and junior health inspectors, alongside ASHA workers, launched house-to-house visits in the Wandoor area to conduct awareness campaigns and distribute informational pamphlets on malaria prevention.
The teams are identifying potential mosquito breeding grounds, particularly stagnant water in discarded plastic items and plant pots, and advising residents on source reduction methods.
"We have launched immediate, comprehensive anti-malarial activities and awareness drives in the region, " said Sreejith G, junior health inspector, emphasising that the cases are currently being treated as 'imported' due to the patients' recent travel history from an endemic state.
The medical department is also undertaking fever surveillance and blood sample collection drives, especially among the resident migrant worker population, to detect and isolate any further cases swiftly.