CHENNAI: To battle the dengue, the Health Department has taken the smart route of an Android app to spread awareness about the preventive measures.
Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar launched the mobile app on Tuesday in the presence of senior health department officials at the Government Multi Super-Specialty Hospital at the Omandurar estate.
Heath officials hope that through this new app, information will reach far and wide and prevent any unnecessary panic among the citizens. According to the minister, the app gives information on not only regular medicines but also on alternate medication like Siddha also.
The app mainly has six functions: information on the different kinds of mosquitoes and what diseases they cause, details on regular medication and Siddha, an audio of instructions as well as a series of short videos involving celebrities and actors explaining how necessary it is to go for immediate treatment and also the importance of not panicking.
Finally the app also has a button that can immediately call either the 104 or 108 helpline, besides providing information on other control room helpline numbers. It also has a section on frequently asked questions for users and it can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
At the launch, the government also issued an appeal to private hospitals, practitioners and laboratories to report cases of notifiable diseases to the local public health authorities.