RAMANATHAPURAM: In the wake of an outbreak of dengue fever in the district, the administration has issued orders to the Health department to conduct special medical camps at tourist spots, including Rameswaram, to screen people immediately on arrival to the coastal region.
Already, a team of doctors had identified nine patients for dengue in Paramakudi block and 13 patients in Ramanathapuram.
All of them are undergoing treatment in government and private hospitals.
Sources in the Deputy Director’s (Health) office in Ramanathapuram revealed that there were no sufficient medical kits and drugs in hospitals to tackle the fever.
Shortage of staff in the Health department was also cited as a reason for not taking the needed care to treat the patients. However, adequate steps were being taken to contain the highly contagious fever, the sources added.
With a large number of tourists from the northern parts of India thronging Rameswaram island, the possibility of dengue spreading fast in the district was there, said some doctors.
Meanwhile, a mysterious fever visited some rural areas of the district, including Pogalur, Rameswaram, Thondi and Sayalkudi.
District Collector K S Muthuswamy told this website’s newspaper that around 22 persons, affected by dengue, had been screened in the district. Breeding of mosquitoes causing dengue was found in fresh and stagnant water and people had been asked to take precautionary measures, he added.
Muthuswamy further said that a team of doctors had been asked to conduct camps in Rameswaram and other tourist spots. Tourists could go in for screening tests if they carried symptoms of dengue, the Collector said.
