Cases with unknown sources of infection surge in Dakshina Kannada

MANGALURU: Increase in Covid-19 cases, where the source of infection is not known, has been a cause for concern in Dakshina Kannada. More than 50% of the cases reported in the district in the past 10 days are categorised as influenza-like illness (ILI), severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), contact under tracing, random sampling and post surgery sampling by the health department.
The district, which was reporting below 50 cases, has seen a spurt in the past 10 days, with the biggest spike of 147 cases on Sunday. Out of 749 Cases reported in the past 10 days, as to how 393 patients contracted the infection, could not be established immediately. It could not be ascertained as to how 95 out of the 147 cases reported on Sunday, contracted the infection.
As on Monday, the district reported 1,276 positive cases, after testing 20,284 samples, and the district had 667 active cases. On an average, 52.5% of the cases reported in the district between June 27 and Monday, were categorised as ILI, SARI, contact under tracing, random sampling and post surgery sampling.
Recently, Ullal City Municipal Council (CMC) saw a sudden spurt in cases while conducting random sampling. The city has reported 48 positive cases through random sampling, on Sunday. Meanwhile, reports of more than 300 samples collected through random sampling in Ullal are yet to be received.
Mangaluru MLA U T Khader said that he has advised people in Ullal to undergo testing voluntarily, if they have Covid-19 symptoms. "If we do not manage it properly, Mangaluru also may have to face the same situation that prevails in Bengaluru now. People in Ullal have been creating awareness through special task forces formed in each ward," he added.
Deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said that the district administration is currently working on tracing contacts. "Contact tracing teams are engaged in finding out the source of infection. There has been a rise in cases during the last few days. We are taking time, but contact tracing is being done. More than 10 community medicine interns from various medical colleges have been roped in to help in the process of identifying how the patients got infected," the DC said.
Contact tracing is done by the district surveillance unit led by the district surveillance officer, she said.
"We have our own doctors who run it, and are assisted by interns. They will take up individual cases, prepare a flow chart, and find out the likely cause of infection in a patient. This report will be presented to the technical team of the state government," she said.