TIRUNELVELI/ CHENNAI: The DMK has urged the State to provide proper treatment to dengue patients. Party president MK Stalin visited Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital on Sunday and interacted with the patients.
“Reports have surfaced that thousands are suffering from dengue and in this hospital, patients from Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur are also undergoing treatment, but the government is claiming that they are suffering from a mysterious fever,” he said.
Rubbishing MK Stalin’s statements, Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar said that in Tamil Nadu, only 210 patients are infected with dengue and they are receiving treatment at hospitals.
Addressing newspersons in Tirunelveli,he said that out of the 185 people admitted in Tirunelveli, only two were tested positive for dengue. “In Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital, only 14 out of the 140 patients admitted with fever have been tested positive for dengue,” he said adding that until December it will be a challenging task to contain spread of the virus. However, the minister said that so far, “we haven’t hidden any information. As many as 1.63 lakh workers have been deployed across the State to tackle the spread.”
In reply to Stalin’s allegation that the government is terming dengue as mystery fever, Vijaya Baskar clarified that there is no outbreak of mystery fever. He said that the dengue patients apart, over 30 patients have been receiving treatment for viral fever. “In Anjupatti Primary Health Centre in Krishnagiri, there are all facilities to tackle any virus outbreak, even Nipah,” he said. The minister claimed that CM Edappadi Palaniswami had conducted review meetings.