‘Health dept alone can’t work wonders’

tnn | Oct 13, 2017, 00:47 IST

Madurai: The state was on the verge of a dengue epidemic despite being on red alert as nothing was being done to eradicate the mosquito vector of the disease, the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association has alleged.

Association president Dr K Senthil told mediapersons in Madurai on Thursday that the health department alone could not prevent the spread of the disease. ``The maximum period for which you can keep a department on alert is about 45 days, after which complacency would set in, which could be detrimental in the current situation,'' he said. Steps had to be taken to control mosquito breeding on a war footing.

All government hospitals were geared up and doctors were also working round-the-clock to control the situation, but all the other departments were not doing their part, he alleged. Many doctors were also foregoing their weekly offs, but the government should also provide adequate nursing staff, he said. The local bodies did not seem to be working on mosquito eradication measures at the required speed. ``If mosquito eradication is not done on a war-footing the situation would go out of control,'' he said.