Ramadoss to discuss Chikungunya with State health ministers today

Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss will meet health ministers of nine states here today to discuss the measures to be taken to control the mosquito-borne disease, Chikungunya.

New Delhi, June 21 : Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss will meet health ministers of nine states here today to discuss the measures to be taken to control the mosquito-borne disease, Chikungunya.

The Health Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Puducherry, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Delhi will attend the meeting.

The Ministers will also discuss Central assistance, both technical and monetary, to the affected states to contain the disease.

The meeting has been called in the wake of reports that the disease is spreading across the country after Kerala.

Kerela has been under the grip of Chikungunya, with thousands being admitted daily to hospitals mainly in central and eastern parts of the State.

The outbreak of the disease is a follow up of the southwest monsoon, which hit Kerala coast last month.

Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Trivandrum and Idukki Districts are the worst hit.

Kerala has so far reported forty deaths from Chikungunya, on Tuesday, 35 fresh cases of the crippling disease surfaced in the State. Over 7000 are admitted in hospitals mainly in the two districts of Pathanamthitta and Kottayam.

The 'Chikungunya' virus is spread through mosquito-bite and causes a non-fatal self-limiting illness, marked by high fever, headache, severe joint pains, rashes and nausea.

The disease has spread near rubber plantations where farmers use plastic cups and coconut shells to collect rubber milk and leave it open, making it a breeding ground for the mosquitoes

The viral disease was reported in the country for the first time after 32 years last year.

So far, 400 people have been affected with the viral disease, even though over 11,000 suspected cases have surfaced in the country.

ANI