Chennai: Health officials swing into action, focus on service apartments

CHENNAI: The Directorate of Public Health has instructed health workers to initiate general hygiene practice in all service apartments in and around the hospitals across the state. The move comes after six cholera cases were reported from patients undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in Teynampet.
The result of eight food samples tested to find out if the source of infection was food came as negative. “We lifted eight samples, three water samples and five food samples from the canteen of the hospital .

All test results came as negative,” said R Kathiravan,designated officer, Food Safety department, Chennai.
Last week, six patients who were undergoing treatment at the hospital were tested positive for cholera. After this the Food Safety officials took three water samples, raw chicken and mutton samples and food items for test. 

Director of Public Health Dr K Kolandaswamy said, “We have narrowed down to the source of infection.  In and around there are many service apartments from where food is cooked and supplied to the patients. We have instructed the health workers to give them instructions on general hygiene practice”. “Not only in Chennai, we have instructed all service apartments across the state to follow general hygiene, and our health workers are monitoring this activity,” Dr. Kolandaswamy said.Dr N A Senthilnathan, City Health Officer, Chennai Corporation, said, “We are on alert and we don’t have any other new cases anywhere. Only six positive cases are in Apollo Hospitals,” he added.