AGARTALA, August 6 (TIWN): No patient was diagnosed to have been freshly infected with Japanese Encephalitis and dengue across the state today. While 458 were confirmed to have been infected by malaria parasite in different hospitals and healthcare personnel, nobody was killed by the disease, a highly placed source in the Department of Health and Family Welfare said.

State malaria programme officer Dr. Bidhu Bhushan Das today said that the Department of Health and Family Welfare had sufficient stocks of drugs to combat Japanese Encephalitis and dengue. Health minister Badal Choudhury reviewed the disease condition earlier this evening with Health and Family Welfare secretary, Director of Family Welfare and Preventive Medicine Dr. KL Bhowmik, mission director of the National Health Mission Dr. Sandeep N Mahatme and health officials from the GB Hospital, IGM Hospital, Tripura Medical College etc.

A highly placed source in the department said the minister approved purchase of 30 new fogging machines to control mosquitoes. A recent entomological survey found heavy presence of culex vishnoi and aedes mosquitoes in different parts of the state, with special density in city areas. The source today said that fogging was already being done in different areas of the state to contain Japanese Encephalitis and dengue. It added that health secretary M Nagaraju today wrote to union health secretary to approve necessary vaccines and testing apparatus to Tripura to combat the two diseases.

The state is currently having a few Japanese Encephalitis testing kits though they are authorized to be used within the GB Hospital alone. There are no Rapid Diagnosis Test (RDT) kits for dengue in the state anyway. Three patients were diagnosed to have contacted the disease already.

An official communiqué from the Department of Health and Family Welfare said later this evening that 3,159 fever patients underwent blood tests in different hospitals and healthcare institutions; 458 among them were identified to have been freshly infected with malaria. The total figure of malaria infected patients crossed 45,027 since the initial outbreak of malaria in May earlier this year.