Health and Family Welfare minister P. Paiwang Konyak on Thursday said that the Health department has been closely monitoring the dengue situation in the state and doing everything possible to help the affected people.
Paiwang said this when NPF legislator Achumbemo Kikon initiated a discussion during the Zero Hour on matters of urgent public importance on dengue and conjunctivitis outbreak in Dimapur and Mon.
He said that altogether 136 individuals were admitted at District Hospital, Mon (DHM), with 50 of them having tested positive for dengue through rapid diagnostic test and confirmed through enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) test, while others tested negative and suffering from dengue-like ailment. However, no death has been reported so far.
Paiwang mentioned that he had on September 2 visited District Hospital Dimapur (DHD) where 80 patients were admitted. But the number of indoor patients were gradually declining, he added.
He informed the house that due to panic among the public, and with no specific medicine available for treating dengue, even slight dengue-like symptoms people flock at hospitals to get admitted.
Though the department had carried out fogging in Dimapur and Mon districts as per public demand, he said fogging contained chemicals which were harmful to humans. In this regard, Paiwang appealed all to keep their surroundings clean and free from stagnant water so as to keep away the mosquitoes.
He also requested doctors, nurses and lab technicians to continue providing extra care and services till the scourge of dengue and other water and vector-borne diseases was eliminated.
He also suggested frequent meetings of District Health Society where DC, CMO and MS of every Districts and Tribal Bodies come together and discuss health issues that arise in their respective districts.
Earlier, Kikon flagged issues such as non-availability of generator and inverter in general wards of hospitals, while the ones that were available were attached to ICUs, thereby inconveniencing other general patients. He also highlighted the issue of shortage of manpower in the health sector and called for framing proper policy to address these issues.
He also pointed out that there were no CMOs in newly-created districts of Shamator, Chümoukedima and Niuland, and that there was shortage of manpower and medical equipment.
Kikon also sought a raise in the salary of MLAs who currently received Rs 50,000 per month, pointing out that as public representatives they often faced difficulty in meeting public demands and taking care of their constituencies.
NLA speaker Sharingain Longkumer disclosed that with regard to review of salary of the legislators, the House Committee had been doing elaborate study and holding consultation with the state government. He assured the members that once the House Committee put forward its proposal, the matter would be taken up in the interest of all members in a pragmatic manner.