Centre Taking all Steps to Check Chikunguniya

About 9.6 lakh suspected cases of chikunguniya have been reported from across the country and the Centre would provide all technical and logistic support to tackle the disease , Union Minister of state for Health Panabaki Lakshmi said here today.

The cases have been reported from 121 districts in seven districts, she said at a review meeting with the Andhra Pradesh government on the disease. The Centre was monitoring the situation and will provide necessary help to the states where the disease is rampant, the Minister said.

Chikunguniya, a debilitating non-fatal viral illness like dengue is tranmitted by `Aedes Aegypti' mosquito, which is also the vector of dengue. The states earlier affected by dengue fever should be on alert, she said.

The affected states -- Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala -- have been directed to focus on elimination of all potential mosquito breeding places by taking up anti-larval measures.

The Minister urged voluntary organisations and panchayat raj institutions to work together to check the disease.

Karnataka has registered the largest number of cases followed by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, she said adding that of the 10,611 serum samples sent from affected states to the labs in Pune and Delhi, 992 were confirmed cases of chikungunya.

In Andhra Pradesh the number of suspected cases crossed 66,000 and 150 confirmed cases were reported from five most affected districts, she said.

Source:PTI News