Oct. 21 in Chennai As the northeast monsoon starts, the Tamil Nadu Health Department has warned people to be careful about the spread of diseases like dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, and flu.

Tamil Nadu has had 18,000 cases of dengue since January 2024.

Because of this, the state’s Public Health Department has told people to get rid of any standing water on their property to stop mosquitoes from growing there.

The department has already set up rain camps all over the state to find people who have dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, the flu, and other diseases.

In an interview with IANS, Tamil Nadu’s Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that the department is keeping a close eye on diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue. He said that 57% of all dengue cases in the state happen in 10 districts: Chennai, Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Tiruppur, Tiruvallur, Theni, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Thanjavur, and Tiruchi.

He said that these areas were where the government was putting most of its resources.

The head of public health and preventive medicine, Dr. T. S. Selvavinayagam, made it clear that the health department is keeping an eye on dengue and other fever-related cases that are reported in both public and private hospitals.

People have been told not to keep rainwater for long amounts of time in old household things because this can make mosquitoes’ homes.

He also told people to only drink hot water to avoid getting diseases from water.

Dr. Rajani, an ecologist, said that bacterial diseases like typhoid could also spread when it rains.

She told parents to make sure their kids only drink hot water and to keep them away from water that isn’t moving or that is dirty, since animal urine can spread leptospirosis through water.

The Tamil Nadu Health Department has said that district health officers will run programs to teach people about diseases that are spread by insects.

The department will also keep an eye on private hospitals to make sure that dengue cases are found and handled correctly.