Nearly 10 days has passed since the tsunami struck Tamil Nadu's coastal villages on Dec. 26, and fortunately there is no major epidemic threat in the tsunami-hit areas of Chennai coast, health officials said Tuesday.
R. Thirunarayanan, superintendent in the government Royapettah hospital, told Xinhua that due to the strenuous efforts of the government and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the threat of epidemic diseases are fading away even in the worst-affected areas.
"Our health department personnel are still providing health care to the survivors. They are also cleaning up the affected areas," he said.
K. Manivasan, joint commissioner of Chennai Corporation, said a dozen medical aid centers, with essential medicines, first-aid facilities and two mobile units, are now functioning in 10 zones of the corporation.
As of Sunday, the corporation had treated 13,646 persons, a majority of them for minor injuries. Some cases of fractured bones were referred to the Government General Hospital.
Fifteen health officers, 150 para-medical staff and 51 sanitary inspectors of Chennai Corporation are heading the health and disease prevention program for the Tsunami-affected areas. Sanitary workers of the corporation are spraying diluted lysol in areas susceptible to epidemic outbreak.
Corporation Health Officer Krishnan said that they are procuring medicines from medical stores and a lot of NGOs and agencies are also supplying medicine and dressing materials.
Meanwhile, the Chennai Collectorate has distributed relief material to 16,897 affected families, according to an official release issued on Monday.
As per the relief package announced by Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the Revenue officials have distributed relief material worth 5,000 rupees, including 4,000 rupees cash, 60 kilograms of rice, three liters of kerosene, saree and dhoti and two blankets, to affected families in the coastal areas, the press release said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2005)
