TIRUNELVELI: Two virus strains - viruses 1 and 3 - were the cause behind the 16 dengue deaths reported in Tirunelveli district in the past one month, said Health Minister Dr V S Vijay. After a review meeting with local body representatives and health officials to control and prevent the spread of the disease in the district, Dr Vijay said a team from the Indian Council of Medical Research took samples of the dengue virus here and found that viruses 1 and 3 were prevalent in the district. Due to the control measures, the spread of the fever was decreasing. In a week, the situation would come under control.
Control measures taken in the Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari districts, prevented the spread of the disease in the neighbouring districts as well, the Minister said.