Proactive steps behind low Covid-19 fatality rate in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district

Pathanamthitta district in Kerala is setting model with its proactive measures that are helping to keep the case fatality rate at the lowest level, despite having considerable elderly population.

The southern district was earlier in the news for effective Covid-19 contact tracing measures as well as the recovery of an aged couple.

Reaching out to the elderly population, opening exclusive dialysis facility for Covid-19 patients, early initiation of plasmapheresis, engaging private hospitals for medical care and meticulous care for Covid-19 patients are key factors that are helping in keeping the mortality rate to 0.076 per cent, which is the lowest in the district.

This achievement has been highlighted as a model in the latest weekly review report of the Covid-19 situation by the Kerala health department.

The mortality rate of Kerala as a whole in also comparatively low, 0.38 per cent. With regard to the total number of Covid-19 cases also, Pathanamthitta is the district with third lowest numbers of 7,845 cases so far, of which six died.

Idukki with 3,792 cases and three deaths and Wayand with 3,643 cases and five deaths are the other districts with low cases. But the fatality rate of Idukki and Wayanad districts are slightly higher than Pathanamthitta.

Pathanamthitta district medical officer Dr A L Sheeja told DH that the district has an elderly population of around 2.5 lakh and a considerable number of them are staying alone at houses.

Considering this, the health and social justice departments initiated proactive measures like preparing an accurate database of the elderly and health teams reaching out to them regularly to meet their medical requirements. Medicines were also being distributed to the needy. The cooperation of elderly people with health workers was also a key factor.

Dr Sheeja said once it was noticed that many undergoing dialysis regularly were getting Covid infection, one of the dialysis centres in the district was made exclusive for Covid-19 patients and non-Covid patients were advised to seek the service of the other four dialysis centres in the district.

Meticulous care at Kottayam medical college, which is functioning as the referral hospital for the district, is also a contributing factor to the low fatality rate.

Recovery of a couple hailing from Pathanamthitta, who was aged around 90, at the Kottayam medical college had received much attention during the initial months of the Covid-19 breakout in Kerala.

Over 70 per cent of those who died of Covid-19 in Kerala were aged above 60 and 98 per cent of the deaths occurred among people with co-morbidity. Hence proactive interventions among these segments assumed much significance, said health department sources.