2 weeks Ago By Arockiaraj Johnbosco
Tamil Nadu’s director of public health and preventive medicine T S Selvavinayagam inspects Nipah precautionary measures in Kanyakumari district on Friday. MADURAI: Tamil Nadu ’s director of public health and preventive medicine T S Selvavinayagam, who inspected Nipah precautionary measures in Kanyakumari district on Friday, appealed to the public to approach primary health care centres and govt hospitals in case of fever and cold and not to ignore the symptoms. Anyone coming from foreign countries with these symptoms should isolate themselves for 21 days, he said.
Selvavinayagam visited Kaliyakkavilai check post on the Tamil Nadu – Kerala border. Following Nipah and monkeypox cases in Kerala, Tamil Nadu health department started monitoring bordering districts like the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Theni, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari districts. Medical screening camps were set up at Kaliyakkavilai and Kakkavilai checkposts in Kanyakumari districts.
He was accompanied by district collector R Alagumeena. After the inspection at the Kaliyakkavilai border, he told reporters that Nipah symptoms included fever, headache, cough, cold and body pain. Anyone suffering from these symptoms should immediately report to primary healthcare centres and govt hospitals for screening.
All the govt hospitals are prepared with quarantine wards, he said. The district administration has screened 1,043 people coming from Kerala in 392 vehicles. None displayed any symptoms.
All the health officials in Kanyakumari district were briefed about the Nipah virus. The joint director of animal husbandry was directed to inspect all the pig farms in the district since Nipah can be transmitted by infected pigs in addition to bats. All precautionary measures are undertaken in the district and people need not panic, he said.
He appealed to people returning from African countries to report any health complications to neighbouring govt hospitals and PHCs for screening monkeypox and isolate themselves for 21 days if they have symptoms..
