ALAPUZHA: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss on Friday announced a special package for Kerala to combat Chickungunya, which has claimed over 81 lives so far and said the Centre will supply fogging machines, mosquito nets and testing kits to the state.
"The Centre will supply fogging machines, mosquito nets and testing kits," the minister said after visiting hospitals in the worst affected Alapuzha district. This is the first time that the Centre is supplying fogging machines, he said.
The National Institute of Virology, Pune, would supply the test kits, he said.
Refusing to be drawn into any controversy on whether the deaths were due to chickungunya or not, the minister said he was awaiting the reports of the experts from WHO and central institutes, who were in Kerala. "Only after receiving their report could the reason for the deaths be ascertained. They are likely to submit the report within three days", he said.
"There had been some reported deaths. My experts say people do not generally die of chikungunya. Sometimes those affected have secondary complications and the deaths could also be due to improper medical treatments. Deaths primarily do not occur due to chickungunya," he said.
The minister said 70 per cent of the deaths reported in Kerala due to suspected chickungunya were of patients over 60 years of age.
"We have a problem and we are trying to tackle it. I do not want to create any controversy," he said after the scribes repeatedly asked him about the cause of the deaths.
