Health Minister directs officials to gear up for monsoon

He has been personally monitoring the situation and the preparedness of the states.

The Minister has directed the officials in the Ministry to gear up to meet the possible incidence of Dengue during monsoon.

“We are coordinating with states concerned and are ready to provide all necessary support,” said Nadda.

Under his direction, B P Sharma, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) chaired a high-level meeting to review the dengue situation in four northern states -Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and National Capital Territory of Delhi, here on Thursday.

Jagdish Prasad, DGHS, Shri C K Mishra, Additional Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), and Health Secretaries and representatives from the states participated in the meeting.

Reviewing the preparedness of the states in view of the ensuing transmission season, the states were advised that as no vaccine is available for prevention and as there is no specific drug for treatment of the disease, source reduction activity to eliminate the mosquito vector breeding needs to be the top priority to reduce the risk of transmission.

The states were asked to strengthen and work towards focussed IEC activities in coordination with Swachha Bharat Campaign to maintain a mosquito free environment.

The Health Secretary pointed out that community awareness campaign plays a crucial role to create awareness and prevent panic in case of dengue positivity.

The states have been advised to launch public awareness campaigns to disseminate information on the DO’s and DON’Ts of Dengue to enable and educate communities for prevention of Dengue.