Tuticorin: The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine conducted a workshop at Pudukottai near here on Saturday, as part of its IEC (information, education and communication) activities to prevent outbreak of Chikungunya in the district.
Inaugurating the programme, P. Geetha Jeevan, Minister for Animal Husbandry, distributed to school children leaflets carrying messages on ways to prevent breeding of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit arbo v
irus that causes Chikungunya. S. Uma, Deputy Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said that the children would in turn take the message their family members. Dr. Uma said that people should not keep tanks and vessels containing water open, since Aedes aegypti mosquitoes breed in clean water. They should remove old tyres, pans and plastic covers where water got collected. People experiencing high fever, joint pain, body pain and swelling in joints must seek special medica
l advice immediately.
According to Dr. Uma, 1,186 suspected cases of chikungunya were reported in Tuticorin health unit district (HUD) last year. Of these cases, 504 were male, 581 female, 49 boys below the age of five and 52 were girls below the age of five. Ten serum samples taken at random from persons suspected with chikungunya were sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune during last year. Of them, six were tested positive.
Exhibition
An exhibition to create awareness of methods to prevent chikungunya and to eradicate myths about it was organised at the venue. Ms. Jeevan also distributed welfare assistance to 11 womenunder State schemes.
Later, the Health Department conducted a rally by school students at Pudukottai seeking public co-operation to control breeding of mosquitoes.
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