While dengue cases are coming down in Chennai, districts are suffering its sting. In an attempt to bring the rapidly increasing dengue cases under control and treat patients effectively in the districts, several teams of doctors and students from the government medical colleges in the city have been sent to Salem, Erode and Nagapattinam where a few people have succumbed to the fever and many have been diagnosed with the illness.
The health department is using the multi-hospital, coordinated team approach to treat dengue.
In spite of all the efforts made by the state health and civic department to control mosquito breeding and focus on source reduction, the situation has gotten out of hand in the districts as several people have tested positive for dengue over the past few days.
After a few dengue-related deaths and on seeing the increasing number of cases, the government has decided to send in medical aid from Chennai.
“A team from the Madras Medical College has been sent to Nagapattinam to treat the dengue patients there.
A lot of cross-guidance is taking place to help the medical teams in other districts,” said a senior health official.
The state, that has 31 testing centres, continues to see a rise in dengue cases. But health officials are quick to point out that while all government hospitals in the state see at least 44,000 admissions a day and 5 lakh outpatients, during monsoon, all types of fever were being called dengue, which was not right.