Dengue prevention: Central expert team visiting Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: A three-member expert team appointed by the Union health ministry is visiting Tamil Nadu to oversee vector control measures undertaken by health officials in the state. The team is expected to suggest measures for prevention and management of dengue.
After visiting Ranipet district, the team met health officials in Chennai on Monday. The team met patients in Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital here on Tuesday. The team would visit neighbouring Tiruvallur district on Wednesday.
The team is headed by regional office of health and family welfare senior regional director Dr Roshini Arthur, chief medical officer Dr Nirmal Joe and consultant entomologist NA Johnson Amala Justin.
Last week, after registering more than 1.1 lakh dengue cases across the country, the Union ministry said it would send teams to nine states and Union territories including Haryana, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir where there is high case load of dengue cases.
Tamil Nadu has 493 active cases of dengue. These include 20 cases in Chennai, according to data from the directorate of public health.
Tamil Nadu reported more than 3,000 dengue cases in 2021 compared to around 2,400 last year. “There is an increase in the number of cases, but there is also an increase in the number of tests,” health minister Ma Subramanian told reporters. “We have tested nearly three times more people this year compared to last year,” he said.
“Northeast monsoon season is the time for various ailments including dengue, but we have kept the incidence under control. Every day, the state reports around 20 new cases. We have intensified measures to cut down breading sources and increase screening and testing,” he said.
Mobile camps had been activated to screen people for fever and other ailments, he added.