Dengue cases in Tamil Nadu are rising unabatedly, intensifying woes among the state health officials. In its bid to prevent the menace of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases, the state health department has announced that 'Dengue Prevention Day' will be observed every week in all the government hospitals in the state.
A report by The News Minute quoted dean of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Dr Jayanth saying that they have received instructions to conduct cleaning drives, in which people will have to go around the hospital premises and remove all trash and waste littered around. "The idea is to ensure that there is no source for mosquitoes to breed," he added.
According to the daily, the circular issued by the state Health Department to all the government hospitals reads, "All cement tanks and drums should be washed thoroughly with bleaching powder every week by the housekeeping staff of the institutions. Uncleaned premises and premises with Aedes larval breeding warrant legal action under the TN Public Health Act 1939. Legal notices would be served on the owners and custodians of such premises."
The report said that the officials of the state health department will be reaching out to the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to ensure that the similar practice is being adopted and carried out in premises of private hospitals in order to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
Tamil Nadu so far has reported 3,400 dengue cases. The vector-borne disease has already claimed the lives of three people so far this year. Health officials’ fear that dengue cases may rise up to 4,500 by the end of 2019 as the northeast monsoon has hit the state early this year.
Government hospitals in the state are getting separate fever wards, intensive care units (ICU) and step down wards or additional wards to ensure that they can provide timely treatment to patients visiting them with complaints of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.
All the housekeeping staff of government hospitals will be trained with sensitization and prevention measures to ensure that the area remains clean and there are no breeding grounds of diseases spreading mosquitoes.
Dengue is caused by bite of female mosquito Aedes aegypti that breeds in stagnant water. Dengue mosquitoes bite during early morning and in the evening before dusk. Initial symptoms of dengue include high-grade fever and severe headache. These symptoms are accompanied by pain in joint and muscles, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, soaring of eyes among others.
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