A total of 40 cases of dengue were diagnosed in the city this month, figures from the Chennai Corporation reveal. There seems to have been a spike in the numbers of the viral disease this month, as the civic body had only recorded a total of 96 cases as of mid-October for the entire year.
Officials at the Corporation said 1,955 fever cases had been recorded, of which 545 were suspected to have been dengue, and 40 were confirmed. Acute diarrhoeal disease too has been seen, with 113 cases. Zone 4, Tondiarpet has had the highest number of fever and diarrhoeal disease cases. The zone, an official said, is generally a hotspot for fever cases.
“While we are seeing an increase in the number of cases, this is not unusual for the present season. There is no epidemic or alarming outbreak. We are also taking measures to prevent the spread of diseases,” said Corporation commissioner Vikram Kapur, speaking at a press conference on Saturday.
Medical camps are being held across the city, he said and over 2 lakh residents have benefited from the 1,530 medical camps held so far, the figures revealed. Complete disinfection of inundated areas was being carried out, he said. A total of 14,142 streets had been fogged and 6,502 sprayed in order to prevent mosquito breeding. In addition, 23 autorickshaws had been deployed to spread awareness about the disease and 2,57,000 pamphlets had been distributed, he said.
The State government too, has geared up with 30 mobile medical teams and 14 sanitation teams deployed for the prevention of communicable diseases, a press release said. Each five-member team has a doctor, a nurse and sanitation inspector and others, who go to door-to-door checking if residents have health issues, adding bleaching powder to water tanks, advising residents to drink boiled water and distributing pamphlets.
Across the State, 416 mobile medical teams, 770 sanitation teams and 1,112 rain relied teams have been deployed, the release said.
