NEW DELHI: As dengue cases in the country see a spike, the centre on Wednesday held a high-level meeting to assess the preparedness of the public health system for prevention, containment and management of the mosquito-borne disease.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired the meeting.
Over 94,000 dengue cases and 91 deaths have been reported in the country till September 17, as per the website of the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control.
The highest number of dengue cases has been reported from Kerala, where 9,770 cases and 37 deaths have been reported, as per the website.
It is followed by Karnataka, which registered 9,185 dengue cases. The other states reporting a hike in dengue cases are Maharashtra (8496), Odisha (6563), Uttar Pradesh (5742), Assam (5604), Rajasthan (5094), Delhi (5221) and Telangana (5138).
As most Indian states are reporting a surge in dengue cases, Mandaviya, in the meeting underlined the challenge posed by the increasing number of cases.
He directed the officials to be fully geared and strengthen prevention, containment and management measures for dengue.
Mandaviya urged states to adhere to the guidelines issued by the centre for prevention and containment of dengue.
He highlighted that the centre has provided all necessary support to the states for screening kits and has provided financial support for fogging and IEC activities as well.
According to a statement issued by the Union Health Ministry, the centre has provided adequate funds to the states under the Program Implementation Plan (PIP) for disease and entomological surveillance, effective management of cases and averting deaths and laboratory diagnosis.
Also, the funds are provided for eliminating the vector breeding and source reduction activities engagement. The budget is provisioned for the procurement of fogging machines too, the statement said.