Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Nov 12: Deputy commissioner of the district G Jagadeesha, said that taking precautions before the disease spreads, rather than taking frantic measures after the disease makes inroads, is very much necessary. Particularly in the current scenario where COVID19 has been a cause for concern, the people need to give more importance to safety measures to maintain their health in good condition, he opined.

He was speaking at the malaria interdepartmental coordination committee, district-level dengue coordination committee and social facilities coordination committee meeting held on Wednesday, November 11 at the auditorium of the zilla panchayat.

Noting that so far, 118 malaria, 139 dengue, and 10 chikungunya cases have been reported from the district, he urged the health department officials to take all necessary steps against spread of the disease, duly noting that there is the risk of these diseases spreading from person to person.

The DC said that malaria, chikungunya and dengue are vector-borne diseases which spread from one to another through mosquitoes. He advised municipality and local administrations to take precautionary measures to regulate the mosquitoes which spread diseases. He wanted educational programmes meant to create awareness about health to be held on a regular basis. He advised accommodating the destitute living at bus stands in municipal shelters.

He said that the work of extending facilities to the people should be conducted effectively including the special schemes meant or the HIV infected people. He noted that under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka scheme, 11,300 people in government hospitals and 13,647 people in private hospitals have availed the treatment.

Zilla panchayat chief executive officer Dr Naveen Bhat, additional deputy commissioner Sadashiva Prabhu, and district health and family welfare officer Dr Sudhir Chandra Sooda were present.