Health officials in Assam are troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic stretching closer to the season when acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), Japanese encephalitis (JE) and malaria fell hundreds annually.
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Officials of the State Health Department and the National Health Mission (NHM) had hoped to be rid of the pandemic by May. But a spurt in COVID-19 cases — the total tally jumped from 44 to 62 since May 6 — has added to their concerns.
Fatal diseases caused by mosquitoes strike Assam annually around June when the monsoon starts. Officials said 150 people died of malaria and about 600 from AES and JE in 2019.
“We know the JE and malaria map but COVID-19 is a new challenge and is threatening to overlap the period when the other diseases strike,” NHM mission director S. Lakshmanan told newspersons via video-conferencing. As a pre-emptive step, the State government has launched a community surveillance programme.
