New Delhi: In the wake of cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) emerging from various districts of Tamil Nadu, Health Minister J P Nadda today advised the state to be "vigilant" in order to combat such diseases.
During a meeting with TN Health Minister C Vijaya Bhaskar in Chennai on Saturday, Nadda also agreed to include three more of its districts in the JE immunisation programme while assuring help for improving health services in the state.
The meeting in Chennai was held to review health parameters and the implementation of various national health programmes, particularly for vector-borne diseases like JE and AES.
"Noting that JE/AES cases were emerging from other parts of (TN) other than the programme districts, the Health Minister advised the state government to be more vigilant in the other districts and agreed to take three more districts into the JE immunisation programme," according to an official release today.
An inter-ministerial meeting has been called in the national capital on January 7 with the health ministers of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and TN to review the JE/AES cases in those states, it added.
The release quoted Nadda as saying that the setting up of a state cancer institute has been approved for TN. He also assured that the funds for the same would be released soon.
Nadda, meanwhile, noted that the state had done well on the health indicators for Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Maternity Rate (MMR) and in implementing public health programmes.
The minister said that the Centre has released Rs 2.5 crore each for the setting up of paediatric ICUs in five districts of the state -- Madurai, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Villupuram and Karur -- of which four have already become functional.
Funds to the tune of Rs 5 crore have also been released for a physical and medical rehabilitation centre at Madurai Medical College and the state government has agreed to expeditiously utilise this amount, Nadda said.
