States have been working hard to control the outbreak of vector-borne diseases amid the Covid pandemic. (Proceedings)
New Delhi:
Amid increasing cases of COVID-19 patients also contracting other seasonal illnesses with similar symptoms, and health complications arising due to delay in diagnosis, the Ministry of Health has issued guidelines for states and medical facilities. on the management of coinfections.
The central government’s Covid co-infection advisory states that people can contract coronavirus and other seasonal illnesses at the same time, and emphasizes the need for aggressive testing to save lives.
“Given the seasonal pattern of epidemic diseases that are observed each year in our country, dengue, malaria, seasonal influenza, leptospirosis, chikungunya, enteric fever, etc. can present a diagnostic dilemma and can coexist in cases of Covid. This poses challenges in the diagnosis of COVID-19, and influences clinical management and patient outcomes, “the advisory states.
Viral, vector-borne and bacterial diseases listed by the Ministry of Health also have symptoms that can be mistaken for COVID-19. Therefore, it urges “high index of suspicion” of diseases prevalent in different parts of the country after the monsoon.
Tests should be performed to check for seasonal illness and COVID-19, both the guidelines on Covid coinfection states list six viral and vector-borne diseases and bacterial infections compared to recommended tests.
“Bacterial coinfections should also be suspected in moderate or severe cases of COVID-19 that do not respond to treatment,” states the advisory that aims to provide clear guidelines on the prevention and treatment of coinfection.
The Ministry of Health also warns against false positive / negative results in the event of co-infections and urged states and medical facilities to ensure “adequate storage” of “approved rapid diagnostic kits for malaria, dengue and typhus. scrubs in COVID treatment facilities. “
The guidelines have been issued against the background of a decline in coronavirus cases in India and health experts are warning people to continue to follow COVID-19 safety regulations ahead of the festival season and winter months, when viral infections increase.
To ensure that co-infections do not derail progress made in controlling the spread of the new coronavirus, some states, including Delhi, had doubled down on fogging to control the outbreak of vector-borne diseases after the monsoon season.
However, the Ministry of Health has not shared any data on the number of cases of Covid coinfection.
India has 71.7 lakh of coronavirus cases with more than 1 lakh of deaths.
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