2 dengue deaths in AP, municipal sanitation officer suspended

Two boys died due to dengue in Anantapuramu in Andhra Pradesh today, prompting authorities to take corrective steps to improve sanitation standards in the city.
A municipal sanitation official was suspended and the municipal health officer issued a charge memo after Information and Public Relations Minister P R Reddy chaired a high-level meeting to fix the responsibility.
The Minister ordered the civic authorities to immediately control stray pigs.
S Md Junaid and S Idris, studying in class V and VII, suffered from fever and were referred to a local hospital in Anantapuramu last Sunday.
Later, they were taken to a hospital in Bengaluru where they were diagnosed with dengue. The boys were then shifted to a children's speciality hospital in Bengaluru, but succumbed to the disease, their father Sikander said.

Reddy visited their family and offered condolences. He offered Rs 40,000 as immediate relief to the family, a government job to a family member and a pucca house, a statement from his office said.

Meanwhile, state Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas said mobile medical teams were dispatched to tribal areas in Rampachodavaram in East Godavari district to check the spread of dengue and malaria.
Social and Tribal Welfare Minister Ravela Kishore Babu visited the area hospital in Rampachodavaram and consoled those undergoing treatment for fever.
Babu asked the hospital superintendent to ensure effective medicare to all tribals.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu held a teleconference with District Collectors and directed them to take all steps to prevent the spread of deadly fevers like dengue.

"The medical and health, panchayat raj, municipal and rural water supply departments should work in close coordination and ensure proper sanitation is maintained in urban and rural areas to contain spread of viral diseases," Chandrababu said.