TIWN
Agartala, June 20 (TIWN): Malaria epidemic situation worsened in Tripura on Friday as two more children died from the disease, raising the death toll to 32. The death zone today extended from Gandacherra and Longtraivalley sub-divisions where most malaria deaths were reported and spread to far south in Sabroom.
Babu Mog (14) of Baishnabpur area in Sabroom sub-division and Somela reang (3) of Anandabazaar ADC village in Kanchanpur sub-division were confirmed to have died from malaria today. A high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar reviewed the latest situation at the civil secretariat this afternoon.
The CM instructed all members of the state cabinet to visit and review malaria affected localities of the state on daily basis from now on. Necessary drugs would arrive in the state via airways everyday henceforth. All anti-malaria drugs would be purchased directly from Delhi from now on, Sarkar said.
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Friday reviewed the latest situation on malaria epidemic and asked concerned officials to ensure repair and proper functioning of safe drinking water facility and sanitation in all public hospitals and Primary Health Centres (PHC) across the state.
The CM asked Minister for Health and Family Welfare Badal Choudhury to hold daily review of the situation at Dhalai district. A control room would be started at Dhalai district hospital and a senior doctor would be deputed in charge of the centre.
According to latest information, malaria has spread across ten sub-divisions of the state including all sub-divisions in Dhalai district and few in Gomati, South Tripura and Kanchanpur.
Special stress was laid on DDT spraying. Spray would be started across the state in war footing from Sunday. Few sub-divisional administrations initiated DDT spraying in dissipated manner. The spray programme would continue for the next 15 days.
Mosquito nets would be medicated in all areas of the state. The operation would be conducted centering sub-divisional headquarters. Necessary medicine would be sent from Agartala.
The Chief Minister further said that many malaria victims who died in the past few days were diagnosed with anemia. A special blood donation camp would be started in a few days and blood units would be sent from Agartala to all areas with blood requirement for patients.
A total of 2,756 patients admitted in different hospitals across the state were diagnosed with malaria till date. The death toll currently stands at 32, a highly placed official in the state Health Department said here today. The official added that 687 patients were hospitalized across the state with indications of fever on Friday alone. 250 of them were confirmed to have been infected with malaria.
Special malaria detection kits are being distributed through MPW, ASHA and Anganwadi workers to help instant detection through blood testing. The Department is reported to have laid stress blood sample collection on a massive scale across the state to combat rising kill zone of the disease.