Chikungunya toll rises to 75: Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 4 (UNI) Seventy-five people died and over 42,750 were affected by the Chikungunya fever in Kerala, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said today.

After a meeting of the State Cabinet and an all-party meeting, the Chief Minister said a sum of Rs one crore had been sanctioned to take up measures to contain the spread of the disease.

He said a state-wide campaign would be launched to free the state from piling up of garbage and eradication of mosqito menace in the state.

A three-day cleaning campaign would be launched in the state from October six, followed by local level meetings. A 'Garbage-free Kerala' would be observed on October 13.

The Chief Minister said the number of people undergoing treatment at various hospitals had come down in the recent days as at present there were only 4,812 in-patients.

Alappuzha District was the worst affected with 68 deaths and more than 33,000 affected cases. Five deaths were reported in Thiruvananthapuram District, he said, quoting the latest figures of the Health Directorate.

He said the outbreak of chikungunya was first noticed in Mauritius where 200 deaths were reported in December. Such cases were reported in Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

He said a special lottery would be introduced to mobilise funds for the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Meanwhile, a three-member World Health Organisation (WHO) team and a six-member National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) team are visiting the area to assess the situation.

The teams visited the taluk hospital in Chertala and held discussions with the district health officials, sources said.

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