Mandaviya, states discuss prevention of mosquito-borne infections

Chennai: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a video conference with all the states’ officials on the current status of mosquito borne infections and Covid management.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian participated in the meeting and discussed the prevalence of mosquito borne diseases in the State.

Ma Subramanian stated that the Government of Tamil Nadu is taking necessary measures to control and prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as Dengue, Malaria, Filaria, Japanese Encephalitis as per the instructions of the Chief Minister M K Stalin.

“So far, 2,866 persons have been infected with dengue this year in Tamil Nadu’” he said. He added that hospitals have adequate stock of medicines, blood components and necessary medical equipment to manage cases of dengue.

Currently, 21,000 workers are engaged in mosquito eradication on a daily basis. The State also maintains adequate stock of mosquito fogging machine and insecticides.

Talking about the prevalence of Malaria, he said that the number of people suffering from malaria is decreasing every year. So far this year, 140 people have been infected with malaria and 17 districts in Tamil Nadu are malaria free. Districts with high incidence of malaria in Tamil Nadu are Chennai, Ramanathapuram, Dharmapuri, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari and appropriate measures are being taken to eradicate this disease completely.

Regarding the Filaria eradication measures, he said that all activities to eradicate Filaria have been completed and Government of Tamil Nadu is providing Rs 1,000 for those suffering from Grade IV Filaria. So far 8,023 people have benefitted and Rs. 9.63 crore has been spent on this project.

This year, 13 people have been affected by Japanese Encephalitis in the State. The vaccination for the same is being administered in 14 districts including Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Thiruvarur, Tiruchy, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai, Pudukottai, Karur and Tiruvallur. The children aged 9 to 12 months are given first dose of vaccine and 16 to 24 months old are provided with 2nd dose of vaccine and about 90 percent of the eligible population has been completed, he said.

As monsoon season sees a surge in the mosquito borne diseases, all prevention and control measures against these diseases are carried out before the onset of the rainy season.

Currently, Tamil Nadu has 78,78,980 vaccine doses in stock, as on July 6 2022 and as of September 2022, 35.52 lakh vaccines are about to expire. Therefore, to prevent the wastage of these vaccines, the State governments has asked Union Government to allow free vaccination for people between the ages of 18 to 59 years at government Covid vaccination Centers, excluding private vaccination centers.