New Delhi: The Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has chaired a high-level meeting to review the rising dengue cases across the country and the subsequent public health preparedness. With India recording over 95,000 dengue cases and 91 related deaths so far this year, the Health Ministry has directed states and union territories to adhere to the guidelines issued by the Centre for prevention and control of vector borne diseases.
The Union government has provided the states with screening kits and financial support for fogging and IEC activities. Adequate funds have been deployed by the central government to states under the Program Implementation Plan (PIP) for surveillance, case management, laboratory diagnosis, procurement of ELISA based NS1 antigen test kits for early diagnosis of cases. The healthcare workers in the states have also been trained. Chhattisgarh, Delhi, the Northeastern States, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat have been particularly hit.
Scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Sciences (ICMR) are working to develop India’s first dengue vaccine in collaboration with two pharmaceutical companies. As of now, only symptomatic treatment is given to the infected patients.
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