A private school in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district has been fined Rs 1 lakh by the state health department after a 4-year-old-student contracted dengue and died this week. The New Indian Express reports that the school was fined as the premises was found to be unclean.
According to reports, the child, S Nakshatra, was first admitted to a government hospital in Gudiyattam, following which she was shifted to three other hospitals before being admitted to the Christian Medical College on Tuesday. She, however, died on the same day, failing to respond to treatment.
Speaking to TNIE, Deputy Health Director, KST Suresh said, “We found the school premises had stagnant water, which is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Their garbage disposal system was also improper. Hence, the fine has been levied on the management.”
Fogging has been done on the school premises and near the residence of the deceased.
Vellore district has reportedly seen 804 cases of dengue since January. Over 3,000 persons have been treated for dengue in Tamil Nadu from January 2019, as per a report submitted to the Madras High Court.
The Department of Health and Family Welfare has announced that it is concentrating on adopting preventive measures against dengue. Chennai, Tiruvallur, Ambattur and Dharmapuri are all focus areas for the department. In Chennai, north Chennai is being given special attention.
Dengue is one of several mosquito-borne diseases. The virus is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and is commonly seen during the monsoons. Some of the most common symptoms of dengue are high-grade fever, joint pain, muscle pain and general fatigue. It can be treated and cured if spotted early. Dengue does not have any vaccine, and hence the treatment is largely based on supportive measures to control the symptoms an individual may have.