Dengue claimed 35 lives in TN since January, says health secretary

After visiting a government hospital here to oversee the preparedness to tackle fever cases, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said, "Since January this year, 10,032 fever cases were reported in Tamil Nadu. Out of these, 35 people died of dengue."

Action will be taken against those who dump building rubble and other materials where mosquitoes breed, he told reporters here.

Asserting that dengue is fully curable, Radhakrishnan said in some cases, deaths occur due to lack of proper treatment on time.

The Tamil Nadu government had faced flak following dengue deaths in some cities, including Chennai and Coimbatore, with the opposition targeting it over the spread of the fever.

The government had on October 3 said it has undertaken work on a "war-footing" to address the issue and Rs 13.95 crore has been allocated for mosquito control.

The government had said among the steps taken to check the spread dengue, was providing 'Nilavembu' (Anti-Pyretic to treat fever) juice across 1,500 medical centres and medical colleges and distributing 2,000 kg of Nilavembu powder among people at primary health centres.