Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

51,000 cases of fever reported in Vijayawada alone

VIJAYAWADA: Over 51,000 fever cases were recorded in July, August and September (till Friday) in a door-to-door survey conducted by the Government in the city and there were 19 deaths due to dengue (suspected) in Krishna district, Minister for Animal Husbandry K. Parthasarathy has said.

Giving figures at a press conference here on Friday, the Minister said the number of fever cases increased from 13,767 in July to 29,000 in August and there were 9,000 cases till Friday in September.

Every step necessary to contain the spread of fevers of different kinds was being taken, he claimed.

According to the official records, there were 52 dengue cases (confirmed by ELISA test) in the district since the advent of the rainy season. There were 1,977 confirmed malaria cases, 117 food poisoning cases and 1,204 diarrhoea cases in the district. Besides the 19 deaths suspected to be of dengue, there were 24 deaths due to other contagious diseases.

The Minister said increase in fevers was because of the prolonged spell in rains during this monsoon.

In an effort to meet the medical contingency the district administration had opened 68 medical camps and requisitioned 1,000 auto-rickshaws to promote awareness and 100 tractors for clearing of garbage to improve sanitation.

He said the Gram Panchayats have been given powers to exceed the expenditure mark of 15 per cent to take special measures to maintain sanitation and hygiene.

Doctors have been hired on contract basis and every auxiliary nursing maid and accredited social health activist has been deployed to meet the contingency.

A decision would be taken shortly to press final year medicos into service if necessary, he said.

As much as Rs. 2 crore was being spent for these activities and the Principal Secretary for Health even permitted the use of Rs. 86 lakh funds available under National Rural Health Mission funds in Krishna district, he said. The Minister for Health was also expected to visit the district soon, Mr. Parthasarathy said.

When reporters told the Minister that the number of deaths was more than what the officials have given, he said he was ready to verify the cause of deaths in every case.

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