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All-out efforts to check spread of chikungunya

Special Correspondent

Minister seeks Rs. 25-crore Central aid

Puducherry: Health Minister E. Valsaraj has sought infrastructure facilities such as State-level diagnostic labs for diagnosing viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases and urged the Union Health Ministry to earmark Rs. 25 crore to establish full-fledged arrangements.

Mr. Valsaraj, who participated in the meeting convened by Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss at Delhi on Wednesday, also stated at the meeting that geographical boundaries of Puducherry were interspersed with three Southern States.

Due to the boundaries that were porous for trade, commerce and tourism coupled with constant floating population, a situation had arisen where communicable diseases intruded into the territory. Stating that all out efforts were made in coordination with Vector Control Research Centre, NGOs and health authorities to meet any exigency arising out of infectious disease, Mr. Valsaraj said that serum samples collected from suspected cases were sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) New Delhi for confirmation.

With the report of the NICD testing serum samples positive for chikungunya, intensive steps were taken to contain the disease.

Mr. Valsaraj said that efforts of the administration for confirming chikungunya infection could not be successfully made for want of adequate testing facilities here. He sought infrastructure facilities like creation of a diagnostic lab and the alternative units of the NIV Hyderabad or NICD New Delhi in Puducherry or at JIPMER.

This would be of assistance to the Southern States situated in closer proximity and would reduce the pressure on the national labs. Mr. Valsaraj said that `perma nets' (insecticide treated bed nets) might be made available under the National Vector-borne Disease control programme at 50 per cent subsidy. Mr. Valsaraj also sought additional fogging machines, automatic sprayers and also additional manpower to take up on broader scale preventive measures. He also pleaded for Union Territory an adhoc grant of Rs. 1 crore.

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