Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar visited the Institute of Child Health on Monday and inspected the fever ward.
Three children who had been admitted with fever, including two siblings, died at the hospital in the last two days.
The death of the siblings, who were from Pozhichalur, was attributed to viral haemorrhagic fevers, possibly arising out of mixed infections, while the third child, from Maduravoyal, was said to have had viral fever with suspected septicaemic shock and encephalopathy.
In August and September, several children from Tiruvallur district had died at the hospital.
The Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine had asked the doctors to review the fever cases and send the report of dengue cases on a daily basis, said K. Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
He said that 20 mobile medical camps were underway at places like Tambaram, Pallavaram, Pozhichalur, Anakaputhur, Pammal, Ayyapanthangal, Kundrathur and Maduravoyal.
“People should reach government hospitals immediately when they have fever and we have alerted all public health officials and workers, local body officials and other stakeholders to monitor the situation on a round the clock basis,” he said after visiting the patients, who were admitted to the Government Hospital in Chromepet with fever. Residents can contact 104 for medical assistance for fever cases, he said.
His visit to the hospital gained significance after the death of two children Fahima (8) and her brother Mohammed (4), from Pozhichalur. Preventive action including medical camps and cleaning operations were initiated in various places in the southern suburbs and the co-operation of local residents was more important in preventing such further deaths, he reiterated.
