Surveillance of respiratory illnesses to be intensified in Tamil Nadu

DPH steps up surveillance of ARI, SARI, ILI in Chennai due to increase in pneumonia cases in China. DME, DMS, DPH instructed to strengthen healthcare facilities, report cases in portal. Union Health Ministry recommends enhanced surveillance for respiratory illnesses in children.

In view of the increase in the incidence of pneumonia in children in China due to usual causes, the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine is taking measures to step up surveillance of outpatients as well as inpatients for respiratory illnesses – acute respiratory illness (ARI), severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), and influenza-like illnesses (ILI).

In separate communications to the Director of Medical Education (DME) and Research, Director of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) and DPH’s deputy directors of health services, Director of Public Health T.S. Selvavinayagam requested them to instruct institutions falling under them – deans of medical college hospitals and other allied institutions under DME, joint directors of medical and rural health services and other allied institutions under DMS – to step up the surveillance and report cases of ARI, SARI, and ILI in the Integrated Disease Surveillance-Integrated Health Information Platform portal.

The Union Health Ministry has recommended the enhancement of outpatient and inpatient surveillance for respiratory illnesses predominantly affecting children in view of the increase in the incidence of pneumonia in children in China due to usual causes, such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae, and SARS-CoV-2, he said.

Healthcare facilities have to be strengthened to manage patients. It should also be ensured that health facilities, such as medical college hospitals, including private facilities, report cases of SARI, ARI and ILI in the portal, he said.