Thursday, May 01, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By Our Special Correspondent
As the Opposition MLAs raised concerns over Tamil Nadu reporting the first case of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the Chief Minister assured the House that there was no need for panic. The disease would mainly spread through saliva and by air. And, SARS could be prevented by gobbling up a papaya and five leaves of `tulsi', she said. The Chief Minister said she watched a television interview by a doctor, treating the SARS patient in Tamil Nadu, in which he clearly said the disease would not spread by touch or proximity. Ms. Jayalalithaa also pointed out that the relatives of the victim, who were staying with him in the CMC hospital, Vellore, had not tested positive for the disease. Responding to an Opposition-sponsored special calling attention motion, the Health Minister, S. Semmalai, explained that the mortality rate among those afflicted with the new disease was only 5 per cent and hence, there was no need for panic. Among tuberculosis patients too, the mortality rate was 2 per cent. A comforting feature was that SARS was not virulent in India as it was unable to spread in hot climate. He said the lone SARS patient in the State, Elumalai, a driver who returned from Singapore after five years, recovered completely now. When he was screened at the airport, on his arrival, he had not declared in a prescribed form that he was suffering from fever or cold, the Minister added. As for the steps taken by the Government to prevent the spread of SARS, he said, a high-level committee comprising representatives from the airport, the seaport, the Indian Medical Association, the Indian Institute of Epidemiology, the Indian Institute of Medical Research, officials of the Health department and voluntary organisations. An exclusive ward for SARS in the Communicable diseases hospital at Tondiarpet here, the Government General Hospital, Chennai, and the Tuberculosis hospital at Vellore had now been set up, said Mr. Semmalai. The debate on the dreaded disease saw a few lighter moments as well with K. C. Karunakaran, CPI (M), suggesting that the Vellore MLA, C. Gnanasekaran, be quarantined as the first SARS victim was undergoing treatment in that town. P. Arasan (BJP) wanted the Speaker, K. Kalimuthu, to provide masks for all MLAs as the Assembly was very close to the port.
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