TN records 4,227 dengue cases, 343 under treatment

CHENNAI: As many as 4,227 people have been affected by dengue and currently 343 people are being treated at the hospitals across the State. No new deaths have been reported in Tamil Nadu in the past few days and a total of three people have died this year.

Health minister Ma Subramanian on Friday said that a fine of Rs 14.87 lakh has been imposed on mosquito breeding places in Chennai city.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has directed the medical practitioners across the State to report the notifiable communicable diseases to the local health authority with the least practicable delay or penalty will be levied for failure to give information, as dengue is a notifiable disease under Tamil Nadu Public Health Act 1939 as per section 62 of Public Health Act. 1939.

The minister said that more than 600 officers have been brought together at the district level to carry out mosquito control measures, fever prevention and special medical treatment camps to also sensitize the public about dengue. He added that the cases are under control and the situation is better for the past three years. In 2012, 13,204 people were infected with dengue in Tamil Nadu, of which 66 people died and In 2017, 23,294 people were infected with dengue and 65 people died due to the same.

The state health department is undertaking precautionary measures before the monsoon so that Tamil Nadu does not face such impacts. On Friday, the health minister inaugurated the dengue awareness exhibition and fever prevention special medical camp in Besant Nagar. He also interacted with the residents in the locality and provided them information and awareness on dengue prevention measures by distributing awareness leaflets and bleaching powder packets.

The minister said that even before the onset of the Northeast Monsoon, the health department workers in coordination with local bodies in respective districts have initiated the cleaning and disposal of materials such as tyres, plastic cups, coconut coir to prevent any outbreaks. The state health department is also organising health camps to keep a check on fever cases at the earliest.

The public works department is also keeping a check on buildings under construction, government offices, restaurants, parks, theaters, wedding halls, educational institutions, and factories to check for mosquito breeding. The department takes more than 250 lakh dengue samples annually. A total of 2,972 government and private hospitals in Tamil Nadu are daily identifying cases of fever, and health workers have been engaged to carry out mosquito eradication activities in collaboration with local government departments.

About 23,717 temporary workers including 424 medicine sprayers, 120 power sprayers, 300 battery-operated sprayers, 324 hand-operated fogging machines, 1 small fogging machine and 68 vehicle-mounted fogging machines are being used by the Greater Chennai Corporation to carry out mosquito control operations and more employees have been deployed by the Corporation to carry out these works.