HASSAN: Principal Secretary to the Department of Health and Family Welfare Usha Ganeshan said here on Tuesday that chikungunya was prevalent in 23 districts of the State and the Government had released Rs. 13 crore to keep the disease under control. According to a release, Ms. Ganeshan reviewed the steps taken by the Health Department in containing the fast-spreading disease in the meeting convened in the office of the Deputy Commissioner. The release said that she addressed officials of the district administration, the zilla panchayat and the Health Department and said that except for Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Chamarajanagar, chikungunya was prevalent in all the other districts. The disease was prevalent in 236 villages of the district and steps have been taken up in 173 villages including fogging operations to kill mosquitoes, she added. As many 2,749 cases of the disease have been reported in the district and blood samples of 179 persons suffering from disease had been sent for laboratory testing. The result was positive in four cases reported from Arsikere and Channarayapatna, she added. A total of 950 posts of Auxiliary Nurse Midwifes (ANMs) were vacant in the State and steps have been taken to fill 550 posts in the first phase. As many as 78 posts of ANMs were vacant in the district and of that 75 per cent would be filled soon, she added.

Efforts were on to fill 56 posts of doctors and 123 posts of Junior Health Assistants that have been lying vacant, she added. The district health officer has been directed to get old vehicles repaired to facilitate staff to attend ailing patients in rural areas, she added.

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