Eight persons from Kallakurichi have fallen sick due to chikungunya, in the first such cases this year. The patients, who belong to Mannmalai in Kallakurichi, have been admitted in Mundiyampakkam Medical College and Government Hospital. They were earlier admitted in General Hospital at Kallakurichi where chikungunya was suspected. Following this, the group was shifted to the Mundiyampakkam GH on Tuesday. Velu (42), Mullaikodi (38), Unnamalai (38), Kasiammal (39), Satish (17), Lakshmi (10) and Periasamy (60) are the among those admitted.
A team from the Mundiyampakkam hospital was sent to Mannmalai to identify the cause for the outbreak. The team will treat others in the area with chikungunya symptoms and conduct a medical camp to curb the outbreak.
Allaying fears of an outbreak, Dr Meera, Deputy Director of Public Health Activities, Villupuram, told Express that “as of now, the situation in Villupuram is normal and as soon as multiple cases are reported from a single village, a team is despatched to analyse the causes and take necessary measures”.
Elaborating on the preventive measures taken by the department, Meera said, “The PHA operates batches of 10 domestic breeding checkers in each block who along with our health officers work actively to curb such diseases. There are two types of preventive measures for larval and adult stages of the disease. Repetitive fogging and eradication of breeding sources in the district over the years have borne fruit in controlling the disease to an extent.”