Chennai, Jan 22 : Amid a noticeable increase in chikungunya infections across parts of Tamil Nadu, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH) has issued a statewide alert, directing district administrations and urban health bodies to step up monitoring, diagnosis and mosquito-control efforts to curb further transmission.

Health officials said heightened vigilance was essential as seasonal conditions remain favourable for vector breeding.

In an advisory circulated to all District Health Officers and City Health Officers, the department said a rise in cases had been recorded in Chennai, Villupuram, Tenkasi, Theni, Cuddalore, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Ariyalur districts. Patients have commonly presented with high fever, severe joint pain, muscle aches and extreme fatigue or drowsiness, prompting the department to flag the need for early identification and prompt clinical management.

To strengthen surveillance and containment, field officials have been instructed to collect sufficient blood samples in fever-prone areas and ensure laboratory confirmation using IgM ELISA tests.

Health authorities underlined that timely reporting by all government and private hospitals, as well as diagnostic laboratories, was mandatory to enable early interruption of transmission. Any delay in reporting, officials cautioned, could allow the virus to spread rapidly within communities.

The department has also ordered that all designated dengue and chikungunya wards in hospitals be kept mosquito-free, with adequate bed strength and sufficient mosquito nets for patients.

Sentinel surveillance hospitals and medical colleges have been directed to maintain stocks of government-approved diagnostic kits.

In parallel, training programmes based on updated national clinical management guidelines for fever, dengue and chikungunya are to be organised for doctors, nurses and frontline healthcare workers. Rapid Response Teams have been placed on standby with logistical and mobility support to respond to any sudden spike in cases.

District Collectors have been asked to convene inter-departmental meetings to ensure coordinated action, including joint information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns and intensified vector-control drives.

At the grassroots level, district entomologists and health inspectors have been told to intensify source-reduction activities by eliminating stagnant water in artificial containers and conducting weekly mass-cleaning drives in high-risk areas.

Daily larval surveillance, periodic indoor fogging and the application of larvicides in large water-storage containers have been made mandatory.

Stressing that public cooperation is crucial, health officials urged residents to scrub water-storage vessels weekly, use bed nets, wear protective clothing and ensure proper solid-waste management. The department said compliance would be reviewed daily, with action-taken reports to be submitted regularly to headquarters.

/IANS