TN sees spike in chikungunya cases after recent spells

While there were only 198 cases of chikungunya recorded in 2018, the number of cases reached 158 till April, 2019. Chikungunya is on the rise as spells of rain hit the State with Erode, Madurai, Salem and Ramanathapuram reporting outbreaks in past three months. Madurai has reported the highest number of cases (118) as per the outbreak reports of theNational Centre for Disease Control, kUnionHealth Ministry.

As per the data released by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ramanathapuram, Erode and Pudukottai districts recorded 44, 39 and 25 cases respectively. The outbreak has been reported twice in Madurai, Erode and Ariyalur, whilethere were three outbreaks in Ramanathapuram.

“There were a large number of suspected cases of chikungunya in Ramanathapuram, Karur and Ariyalur. However, all the cases were treated symptomatically. The serum samples were sent to district public health laboratories that have confirmed the presence of the vectors. The research is being conducted on the vectors to intensify control and prevention of the disease,” said a senior official from State Health department.

Experts said that the recent spells of rain are likely to spike mosquito breeding and thus, the number of vector-borne diseases may rise. “The outbreaks are being investigated to find the responsible factors behind the outbreak. However, the outbreak after the rain is mainly due to seasonal factors and we do not have any uncontrolled outbreak as hospitals and PHCs are on alert to treat these cases. People are being advised to tightly cover water containers to prevent mosquito breeding,” said Dr K Kolandaisamy, Deputy Director of Public Health.