Government must intensify dengue prevention measures: Eswaran

The Tamil Nadu government should immediately intensify mosquito-control and preventive measures to contain the spread of dengue in the State, said Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi (KMDK) general secretary E.R. Eswaran.
In a statement, he said dengue cases were increasing in several parts of Tamil Nadu and more than 200 cases were being reported in a single day. He urged the government to step up preventive measures and public awareness campaigns. State health department figures cited in recent reports showed 17,277 dengue cases during the year as of Sept. 22.
“Prevention is the essence of protecting people from disease. The government should immediately intensify mosquito-eradication and other preventive measures,” Mr. Eswaran said.
He said cases of fever, cold, cough and fatigue were also being reported increasingly and stressed the need to prevent the spread of dengue from Chennai to other parts of the State.
He urged the government to strengthen preventive measures in taluk hospitals in all districts, deploy health workers on a larger scale and intensify surveillance and mosquito-control activities.
Mr. Eswaran also referred to reports concerning fever among students at Anna University and called for greater preventive measures. However, health authorities have clarified that the recent death of an Anna University student was due to scrub typhus and not dengue.