Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a statewide surveillance drive from September 7 to 16 during which health officials will go door-to-door to identify those with symptoms of viral fever, coronavirus infection and other diseases arising out of seasonal variations.
Under the drive, nodal officers will be appointed in every district to monitor relief work in areas affected by floods and heavy rains.
Addressing a high-level meeting on Thursday, the chief minister instructed officials to ensure supply of pure drinking water and distribute chlorine tablets in the flood-affected districts.
Stating that any kind of carelessness could spiral into a scary situation, Yogi said: “Special efforts should be made to improve surveillance. The Health, Rural and Urban Development and Child Development departments should stay alert and run special cleanliness campaigns with inter-departmental coordination,” he said.
Health department officials have been directed to spray anti-larva chemicals and undertake fogging drives in the areas where more than one dengue patient is found. People have been advised to take precautionary measures to check the breeding of mosquitoes in and around their houses. District magistrates have been asked to keep a constant tab on arrangements of ambulance operations in respective districts.
Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said: “It should be ensured that all preventive actions are being taken in the affected area within three days of the confirmed dengue case. In those areas where there are no dengue cases, the process of source reduction has to be made continuously by preparing a weekly action plan. Samples of patients should be sent to the lab for examination by the team of the Health department. ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) reader-based NSI (in the first five days of symptoms) and IgM (after five days) should be used to test for dengue.”
For the prevention of scrub typhus, the state government has ordered the administration to cut bushes regularly and take immediate action to control rats. Required medicines have been provided to the patients. Parents have been advised to dress children in clothing that covers arms and legs and use mosquito netting to avoid mosquito bites.
ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, ANMs and village heads have been entrusted with the responsibility to apprise people about various water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases. They will also be making a list of people who are suffering from fever.