E-Paper
No Zika virus cases in Tamil Nadu so far, houses near Kerala border screened: Official
Screening and inspection activities have been going on, as people from Kerala are being screened for the past five days for Zika, health secretary J Radhakrishnan said.
No cases of the Zika virus have been reported so far in Tamil Nadu, the state’s health secretary J Radhakrishnan said on Monday after several people tested positive for the disease in neighbouring Kerala. Radhakrishnan said that experts have been checking for Zika infections along the border with Kerala. “About 2,660 houses were screened near the Kerala border. Luckily so far there are no positive cases. We have told all district collectors including the General Cooperation Commissioner to intensify anti-mosquito activities,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying, earlier in the day.
Screening and inspection activities have been going on, as people from Kerala are being screened for the past five days for Zika, Radhakrishnan added.
The health secretary’s remarks came even as Tamil Nadu tightened the vigil along its border with Kerala in a bid to check the spread of the disease. State health minister Ma Subramanian, on Sunday, said that fumigation measures were intensified to prevent the spread of Zika and dengue in the state.
Also read | As Zika virus spreads in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka step up vigil
Meanwhile, three more people tested positive for the Zika virus in Kerala on Sunday, taking the overall cases to 18 so far, news agency PTI reported. Testing facilities have been arranged at the medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode and at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) unit at Alappuzha. Hospitals in the state have been instructed to test patients, especially pregnant women, with fever, rashes and body pain, health minister Veena George said on Sunday.
As Zika cases continue to rise in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which share a border with the state, have increased their vigil. Along the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, surveillance has been increased at 14 strategic points and also at the Walayar and Meenakshipuram checkposts, a PTI report on July 10 showed. Also, an e-pass has been mandated for people travelling from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, PTI said citing people familiar with the developments.
(With agency inputs)
