The Vellore branch of the Indian Medical Association will work closely with the Department of Health in strengthening the disease reporting system. The decision was taken after Health Minister Vijay, who chaired the session on dengue awareness, under the aegis of the Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TMC), appealed to private medical practitioners to work in close coordination with government to combat vector-borne diseases.
Aravinth Reddy, president of the Vellore IMA said the minister had informed the association that it was mandatory that they report about various communicable diseases to the government under the Notifiable Diseases Act and Public Health Act. He urged the medicos not to rely on rapid tests to confirm dengue, as the specificity and sensitivity aspects of the antibody produced by the virus needed to be ascertained using the ELISA or PCR tests. Any violation in this regard would attract serious action from the Medical Council of India and the State government, Reddy cautioned.
Relying on rapid test created panic among public and any incidence of symptomatic fever pertaining to dengue should be reported to the Health Department while referring the patient to government medical college hospital for effective management, he advised the medicos. If the private practitioners cooperated in reporting incidences of vector-borne diseases, the government could launch adequate management strategies so that public need not suffer in this regard, he added.
The association members were informed to start supportive therapy on suspected cases without waiting for the test result. The IMA would coordinate with the members in developing a protocol to report to the district health authorities about the suspected cases on a daily basis. Necessary input forms would be distributed to the members in this regard so that it would help them record their findings and report the cases accordingly, he added.
The IMA would also launch dengue awareness programmes in schools, as children were more prone to fever. Parents would also be educated to protect their wards against mosquito bites. The association would also work with the local NGOs to launch public awareness programmes to dispel fears on dengue, preventive measures and disease management Reddy added.
Deputy Director of Health Somasundaram and TMC member V Durairaj spoke about the role of medical practitioners in combating dengue as part of the continuing medical education programme.
