Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha on Monday directed the Health Department to take up public awareness on H1N1 flu (or swine flu).
He was chairing the District Coordination Committee meeting of the District Surveillance Unit at the District Offices Complex, here.
Earlier, District Surveillance Officer Vasudev Upadhyaya said that 242 cases of H1N1 flu had been recorded in the district in 2010. Of these 242 patients, 10 died. Since January this year, 55 cases of H1N1 flu had been reported in the district, but there had been no deaths, he said.
Mr. Jagadeesha directed the Health Department to take the cases of HINI seriously. People should be informed about the symptoms of the disease and how its spread could be prevented, he said.
District Vector Borne Diseases Control Officer Prashanth Bhat said that five cases of Japanese Encephalitis had been reported in the district and one person died in 2019. Of the seven cases of chikungunya reported in the district since January this year, four tested positive.
As many as 25 cases of dengue had been recorded in the district since January this year. Since these diseases spread through mosquitoes, all efforts were on to check the breeding of mosquitoes, he said.
District AIDS Control Officer Chidananda Sanju explained the precautionary measures taken up by the Health Department with regard to Kyasanur Forest Disease.
As many as eight patients from other districts with Kyasanur Forest Disease had got admitted to the Kasturba Hospital here and of them, one died, he said.
Dr. Upadhyaya said that there were no cases of COVID-19 in the district. Three persons from the district who had visited China recently had voluntarily agreed to get tested for COVID-19 and all of them tested negative.
District Surgeon Madhusudhan Nayak and other officers were present.
