Centre keeping constant vigil on Chikungunya: Minister

Hyderabad, July 29 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Panabaaka Lakshmi today said the Union Government was keeping a constant vigil on Chikungunya fever in all the States and Union Territories.

Addressing the District Medical and Health officers along with medical experts from Delhi at a review meeting here on the measures to control the disease, she said necessaary technical assistance was being provided through guidelines and field reviews in addition to logistics support as per the request of the state.

''The Centre would provide sufficient funds to contain the disease, she said, adding the disease was not fatal.

She said concerted efforts should be made to create more awareness to remove panic from the minds of the people about the disease.

Giving a detail on the Chikungunya scenario in the country, she said Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala were affected by the disease.

The 10,611 serum samples collected from the affected states sent for clinical test to the laboratories at National Institute of Virology, Pune and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi, had been confirmed as Chikungunya.

Instructing the Health Officials to constantly monitor the situaion and provide the best treatment to the affected people, she said the most important was elimination of the mosquitoes responsible for spreading the disease.

Andhra Pradesh Health Minister K Roaiah said the state government had allocated sufficient funds to purchase medicines and directed all the District Medical and Health officials to conduct door-to-door surveys in the affected areas.

''Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has taken special care and conducted several review meetings with the health officials and medical experts to overcome the situation in the state,'' he said.

He said Special teams from NIV Pune and NICD Delhi had already visited the affected districts in February last and carried out investigation and on the basis of that an integrated action plan was drawn up in each district.

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