Health ministers' meet on July 30

With chickungunya fever taking an epidemic form, health ministers of all the southern states will meet in Bangalore on July 30 to chalk out an integrated approach to control the spread of the disease.

Karnataka's health and family welfare minister R Ashok told reporters here on Monday that his counterparts from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry will attend a conclave of medical fraternity in Bangalore.

"We are all aware that chickungunya is not a life threatening illness. But it is spreading rapidly all over the state. Even the neighbouring states have reported many cases of the illness. To bring the spread of the disease under control, we will work out a comprehensive strategy," he added.

The conference will approach the Centre for financial aid for supply of medicine.

"The illness is spread by a particular variety of mosquito, which has to be destroyed. There has to be a scientific approach in tackling the illness. Though we have been successful in treating the patients, our efforts to exterminate the mosquito population have not yielded the desired results," he stated.

Ashok said the government would equip all the 5,400 gram panchayats with fogging machines to check the mosquito population growth.

"A sum of Rs 8.40 crore had been released for purchasing the fogging machines," he said.