Dengue cases were under control in the State and as on date only 390 patients were in hospitals for treatment, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Ma. Subramanian here on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, he said that every year, during the start of rainy season, dengue cases were reported in various parts of the State. This year, so far, 4,454 complaints of dengue and three deaths were reported between January 1 and September 27.
Only on two years in the past the count was high. In 2012, over 13,000 cases were reported and 26 had died, and in 2017, of the 23,000 cases 65 fatalities were reported. Otherwise, the fever had been widely under control and on an average about 6,000 to 7,000 cases were reported.
“We have come a long way in building better infrastructure right from the Primary Health Centre- level to ensure the health of people,” he said. There is adequate stock of drugs to treat dog and snake bite cases in all rural PHCS in the State. It can be borne by the fact that though 60,380 dog bite cases and 14,484 snake bite cases were reported this year across the State, there were no fatalities, he said.
TB-free Tamil Nadu
“There are86,000 tuberculosis cases in the State. But, through early screening and other measures, we hope to have a TB-free Stateby 2025, Mr. Subramanian said. He inaugurated a TB clinic at a PHC in Thoothukudi district.
On shortage of doctors, which was almost 30% in Government Hospitals in Thoothukudi, he said that selection process for recruiting 1,021 doctors had been completed. The appointment orders could not be issued due to some people moving the court. As and when they were cleared, the hospitals would have new recruits and hopefully all districts would also get their due share in appointments.
