Southern States urge Centre to set up virology labs in States

Bangalore, July 30 (UNI) The Southern States today urged the Union Government to extend financial help to fight widespread cases of chikungunya, which had crippled lakhs of people, and set up modern testing labs in different States to contain the outbreak of such viral diseases.

A meeting of Health Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, besides officials from Kerala and Pondicherry, decided to take a delegation of Health Ministers of the affected States to meet Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Andhra Pradesh Finance and Health Minister K Rosaiah said a delegation of Ministers of the affected States would meet the Union Health Minister shortly and explain the outcome of today's meeting.

''We will ask the Centre to provide virus testing laboratories on the lines of the National Institute of Virology in Pune. At present, samples are being sent for testing to Pune and it takes time. By the time the findings are received, the patient would be cured. We need such labs in different States affected by viral diseases like chikungunya,'' he said.

Mr Rosaiah said it had been proved that chikungunya was not fatal, a fact confirmed by the World Health Organisation. Some deaths attributed to chikungunya recently were not true.

''If a person is suffering from different diseases and later afflicted with chikungunya and dies, it should not be considered as a chikungunya death. However, it cripples one's body and recovery depended on one's age and health. The Andhra Pradesh Government has taken all possible measures to contain the disease,'' he said.

Earlier, addressing the meeting, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy urged the Union Government to extend technical and financial help to the Southern States to fight Chikungunya. A Joint Action Committee could be formed by the affected States to fight the disease, he suggested.

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