As many as 165 hospitals have failed to report details of patients undergoing treatment for infectious and notified diseases, to the local health authorities of Chennai Corporation.
The Chennai Corporation has started issuing notice to the hospitals under Section 56 and 64 of Tamil Nadu Public Health Act 1939.
The civic body has asked the hospitals to notify the details of such patients within 24 hours. “If hospitals fail to comply with the requisition, they will render themselves liable for prosecution under section 134 of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act,” said an official.
Infectious diseases that ought to be reported include acute influenza pneumonia, anthrax, cerebrospinal fever, chickenpox, cholera, diphtheria, enteric fever, leprosy, measles, plague, rabies, relapsing fever, scarlet fever, small pox, tuberculosis and typhus fever.
Daily reports
Hospitals have to report daily on notified diseases and conditions including infectious hepatitis, epidemic influenza, whooping cough, viral encephalitis, hemorrhagic fever, malaria, tetanus, poliomyelitis and AIDS.
With a rise in fever cases in the past few days, representatives of the 505 registered hospitals in the city from the 15 zones have been asked to comply with the statutory provisions. But, many hospitals have failed to respond.
“Just 340 hospitals have been regularly reporting cases of such infectious diseases,” said an official. A few years ago, the civic body put in place a system whereby all the 505 hospitals are required to provide details of the patients on a daily basis to the Chennai Corporation.
As part of efforts to cope up with the challenges pertaining to the spread of vector-borne diseases, the civic body has asked hospitals to commence reporting of all suspected cases on the same day.
Health officials will rush to neighbourhoods with suspected cases and remove peri-domestic sources of breeding such as tyres, plastics and organic waste, said an official.
