Tamil Nadu government on Sunday asked districts bordering Kerala to be “alert” and step up surveillance following the outbreak of the Nipah virus in the neighbouring state. In a message sent to collectors, the Health Department asked them to include all communicable diseases like Nipah as part of fever surveillance.
“Fever surveillance in border districts should cover all communicable diseases, especially Zika and now Nipah. The local bodies along the border should be alerted about these diseases,” Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said in a message to collectors of districts that share borders with Kerala. He also said there was nothing to panic.
An identical message was also sent to deputy directors of the health department and health teams that are functioning in districts across the state. Officials said district administrations have been asked to step up surveillance in border areas and screen passengers coming from Kerala.
“This is a standard protocol that is being followed. As we launched a fever surveillance programme after the Covid-19 outbreak, we added Zika and now Nipah after a 12-year-old died of the infection. Passengers coming from Kerala will be screened before they enter Tamil Nadu,” a senior government official said.
Published 05 September 2021, 13:17 IST