Chennai Records 4,592 Dengue Cases as Health Officials Report Declining Trend
Health Secretary Tariq Ahmed inspected dengue prevention activities in the Teynampet zone on Sunday, stating that the outbreak across Chennai has stabilized and fresh infections are showing a declining trend. While reports suggested dengue infections had crossed the 20,000-mark, health officials clarified that the higher figure reflected broader testing of fever cases rather than confirmed infections.
Official data shows that Chennai has recorded 4,592 confirmed dengue cases from 16,254 tests conducted so far this year, with no deaths reported. A significant portion of the caseload came recently, with 1,293 cases reported in September alone. Health authorities attributed the rise in infections to seasonal variations.
Speaking after his inspection, Dr Ahmed stressed that the priority remains testing all fever cases and ensuring timely clinical management, particularly after fever subsides, which can be critical for dengue patients. He noted that Tamil Nadu is prepared to handle cases across both government and private hospitals. During the inspection, Dr Ahmed visited a special fever medical camp on East Namachivayapuram 3rd Street in Ward 109, distributed dengue awareness pamphlets door-to-door, and reviewed drone-based larvicide spraying along the Cooum river.
To curb mosquito breeding, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has deployed 3,703 mosquito-control workers and is conducting more than 100 fever medical camps daily across the city. The civic body is also operating around 1,250 machines for larvicide spraying.
GCC Commissioner G.S. Sameeran said the civic body has imposed Rs 7.2 lakh in fines over the past month on commercial establishments, organisations, and households that failed to clear garbage despite warnings. He noted that intensive vector-control measures will continue due to intermittent rains creating breeding sites in stagnant fresh water. The Corporation is also desilting 44 canals and using drones for biological vector control.
Ahead of the Northeast monsoon, the civic body has desilted 1,400 km of the 1,600 km of stormwater drains identified with blockages, with the remaining 200 km scheduled for completion this week. With forecasts citing a potential "Super El Niño", Sameeran said 215 relief centres and 111 community kitchens are prepared, alongside 15 IAS zonal officers and seven ministers assigned to coordinate preparedness.
