Chennai, Nov 8( BPNS)
The Tamil Nadu health department is conducting health clinics across the state in association with local bodies to take preventive measures against fever and other water-borne diseases as Tamil Nadu is reeling under heavy rains following the commencement of the northeast monsoon.
The state health secretary. Dr. J. Radhakrishnan in a letter addressed to district collectors said that 416 mobile medical units and 770 jeep-borne units were deployed.
The public health office is monitoring the situation in Chennai and adjacent parts of the district where incessant rains had inundated the place leading to the possibilities of the outbreak of water-borne diseases. With Covid- 19 also not completely off the system, the health department is taking extra caution as the rain-affected areas are bound to feel the impact in the next four days. If Covid -19 cases are reported in these areas, then it would lead to the recovery in three weeks only.
In a related development, the Tamil Nadu health department in association with the local bodies is planning to vaccinate street dwellers. With the advent of monsoon and the street dwellers staying together, the possibility of Covid -19 infecting them is on the higher side.
A doctor who is attached to a mobile vaccination unit at Madurai while speaking to BPNS said,” These street dwellers don’t have any records including Aadhar or any other ID cards. This could be overcome by allotting some temporary id cards but the point is once they are given the first dose, locating them for the second dose would be impossible as most travel across the state and in neigbhouring states also. Government will have to relocate and rehabilitate them to provide proper doses of two vaccines so that they are not infected in future.”
Rains are also leading to itching, diarrhea, fever, and other diseases and state health department is closely monitoring the situation. State health secretary said that Tamil Nadu was fully equipped to tackle any health emergency and that the state has ample stock of medicines.
The District Medical Officers are briefed to stock ample antibiotics, intravenous fluids, tetanus toxoid, anti-snake venom during the rainy season. The state health department said that these are in adequate quantity in the state and have been distributed to all the districts.
State health department has directed all the private hospitals to stock sufficient emergency medicines as also to maintain the stock of oxygen cylinders for any emergency.
The health department has directed all district medical officers to visit the primary health centres to have an inspection on the necessary medicines and other equipment available there. The health department also requested all private hospitals to have proper generators as possibilities of power failure due to heavy rains are high.
The state health minister, Ma Subramanian while speaking to BPNS said, “The state health department is conducting mobile health clinics across the state and mobile ambulances are deployed across all districts. We are closely monitoring whether people are getting infected by any rain-related diseases and Covid -19 is also being closely monitored.”
