Chennai, 8 March (IANS). Tamil Nadu Health Department has issued a high alert in view of increasing cases of Kanthamala disease in children in Coimbatore.
In the last two days, the authorities have intensified monitoring and preventive measures after confirmation of viral infection among 21 kindergarten (KG) students of a matriculation school in Pelamedu.
After the outbreak, the school administration has declared a holiday till March 12 to prevent further infection.
Health officials of Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation said that 13 students of KG showed symptoms two days ago. The school management immediately sent them home to prevent the disease from spreading.
Health department officials have assured people that there is nothing to panic.
However, individuals who experience symptoms of measles, throat or chickenpox are advised to immediately seek medical help in the nearest government hospital. The throat is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects children, but can also infect adolescents and adults.
This usually causes inflammation in the parotid salivary glands on one or both sides of the face, causing pain and discomfort. Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, difficulty chewing and fatigue.
The virus spreads through the drops emanating from coughing or sneezing and remains infectious from before the gland begins to five days after the inflammation starts. Infected individuals should limit contact with others, take enough rest and remain hydrated until he recovered.
While the throat is generally considered a mild, self-limited disease, it can give rise to complications, especially in children without vaccination.
A study conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Health Directorate (DPH) using data from the Integrated Health Information Portal (IHIP) under the Integrated Disease Monitoring Program (IDSP) has highlighted a worrying increase in the cases of throat across the state.
According to the study, the incident rate of Kanthamala per lakh population increased from 0.07 in 2021-22 to 1.30 in 2023-24. Many cases are believed to be less reported, because the throat is not an informed disease, and some hospital cases do not document cases. Between April 2021 and March 2024, 1,281 potential cases of Kanthamala were registered in Tamil Nadu, of which 56.05 percent of women.
The study found that 70 percent of cases were in children under the age of nine, while 10 percent of cases were reported in the age group of 10–19. The cases recorded over the last few years have steadily increased.
In 2021, out of about 2,261 cases, Coimbatore had 15 percent cases and 11 percent in Dharmapuri. Meanwhile, in 2022-23, at least 129 cases were reported, including 51 percent in Thiruvarur district, 11 percent in Nagapattinam and 4 percent in Chennai.
During 2023–24, 1,091 cases were registered in the state. Health experts said that these trends suggest that environmental changes, population dynamics and variation in vaccination coverage may be factors contributing to the increase in the spread of throat.
Although complications related to throat are rare, especially in children, doctors emphasize that the risk of serious consequences can be reduced to a great extent through vaccination.
India started measles vaccine in 1985 under the Universal Vaccination Program (UIP) and later started the combined measles-rubella (MR) vaccine in 2017 to eliminate both diseases by 2020.
The DPH study recommends a notified disease to the Kanthamala in Tamil Nadu to increase monitoring and control efforts. In this, it has also been suggested to include the vaccine of Kanthamala in the UIP schedule as per the central government guidelines to prevent further outbreaks.
-IANS
AKS/CBT