Tackling the mosquito menace on a war footing at government and private institutions alike, including schools, constructions sites, vacant plots and Metro Rail construction sites will be a priority this monsoon.
A meeting chaired by State Heath Minister C. Vijaya Baskar was held on Wednesday to raise awareness and discuss integrated prevention and control measures for communicable diseases.
Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said the State had seen a total of 1,752 dengue cases till October 18 this year, accounting for 3.4 per cent of the total number of cases reported country-wide. “In the current year, instead of focused outbreaks, we have been seeing mixed infections including water-borne, vector-borne and zoonotic infections,” he said, adding that the focus was not only on the prevention of dengue but also on other diseases such as leptospirosis, scrub typhus typhoid, malaria, Hepatitis A and diarrhoeal diseases ahead of the rainy season.
‘No mystery fevers’
The Health Minister also pointed out that there were no ‘mystery fevers’ and that the King Institute of Preventive Medicine had the capacity to identify 29 different types of viral fevers. The public has been advised to ensure that there is no stagnant water around their homes, close windows between 4 and 7 p.m., make children wear full-sleeves when they go out to play, opt for only qualified medical professionals when unwell, hydrate those with fever adequately with fluids including coconut water and kanji.
Health Minister convened a meeting on Wednesday to discuss prevention and control measures
