Tamil Nadu reports spurt in water, vector borne diseases

Tamil Nadu recorded 3,665 cases of dengue till October end, with about 900 cases in October alone.

Besides 490 cases of dengue active in the State, about 1,000 cases of suspected fever have also been reported at government hospitals. Authorities say community outbreak is a risk as more clusters would add up to the burden.

“The number is increasing within the household and members of the same family are affected with suspected fever or flu. It reflects on the food and water consumption patterns that are likely to have been contaminated and led to the outbreak. The numbers are not alarming but precautions to prevent clustering is important,” said Dr Gokula Priya, general medicine consultant at a government hospital in Tirunelveli.

A few cases of food poisoning and Viral Hepatitis-A were reported in Tirunelveli and medical officers say, of about 30 water samples, 19 were not fit for drinking. About 97 cases of chikungunya have been reported in Tamil Nadu till October and 257 cases of acute encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis have been reported in the State.

“Several districts are seeing a surge in water-borne diseases and rains can worsen the impact. Healthcare workers emphasise the importance of boiling drinking water and preventing the collection of rainwater. Medical camps are also being conducted to record such clusters,” said Dr T S Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.