Latest news with #Ma.Subramanian
The Hindu
11-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Rally marks World Population Day
A rally was taken out to mark the World Population Day on Friday. Health Minister Ma. Subramanian flagged off the rally and later released an adolescent health handbook and family welfare handbook. He also presented certificates to nursing students who won in various competitions on the occasion. Speaking at the event, he said due to efforts taken by the Health department, Tamil Nadu's Maternal Mortality Ratio and Infant Mortality Rate has declined. Among others, Health Secretary P. Senthil Kumar was present, according to a press release.
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Minister urges medical students to participate in government service
Minister for Health and Family Welfare handed over degrees to 88 students graduating out of Dharmapuri Government Medical College on Monday. Calling upon medical graduates to see the moment of passing out as just a beginning, he urged them to participate in government service. At the convocation, Mr. Subramanian narrated about his visit to the remote hill hamlet of Maatupattikottai in Halahalli panchayat in Dharmapuri earlier that morning, where he assessed the reach of the State Government's flagship schemes. The Minister said he had arranged for cochlear implant consultation for a 23-year-old hearing and speech impaired woman at the Stanely Medical College Hospital, and designated a doctor in-charge of taking the woman and her family to Chennai. The Minister sharing nuggets of his visit to the hamlet of barely 50 families said, 'the residents said no politician had ever visited that village. A nurse makes monthly visits under the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme for the physiotherapy of a woman, who was fighting stroke.' That was how the scheme touched lives, Mr. Subramanian said. Mr. Subramanian also spoke about a medical college graduate, with tens of gold medals to his name, who collected his degree at his hands in 2021. 'Today, he is Dr. Prashant S. IAS, Additional Collector of Coimbatore,' he said. Mr. Subramanian also lauded Dharmapuri Government Medical College Hospital that has carried out 26 organ harvesting procedures, a unique feat for a non-metro government medical college hospital, on a par with those in Madurai and Coimbatore. Similarly, the hospital also carried out 80 cochlear implants for children, a remarkable feat, the Minister added.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
T.N. CM Stalin to inaugurate new urban HWCs and PHCs
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will inaugurate 208 urban Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) and 50 Primary Health Centres (PHC) and urban PHCs on July 3, according to Health Minister Ma. Subramanian. He said that the CM had earlier announced that 708 urban HWCs will be established in the State. Of this, 500 were opened within a year of announcement. The remaining 208 will be inaugurated by the CM through videoconferencing from a centre in Adyar. Each urban HWC will have a doctor, nurse, health inspector and support staff. He added that 19 new district headquarters hospitals and six hospitals on par with district headquarters hospitals were being established at a cost of Rs. 1,018 crore. Of this, the district headquarters hospital at Tiruttani was already inaugurated. Recruitment of staff will be taken up for the remaining 24 hospitals soon, he said.
The Hindu
29-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu expands Japanese Encephalitis vaccination to seven more districts
Tamil Nadu is scaling up Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccination to seven more districts. They are Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Vellore, Nagapattinam, and Chennai. According to the World Health Organization, the Japanese Encephalitis virus is spread by mosquitoes (especially Culex tritaeniorhynchus). Though symptomatic JE is rare, the case fatality rate among those with encephalitis can be as high as 30%. Permanent neurologic, cognitive and behavioural sequelae occur in 30%-50% of those with encephalitis, it has said. The Health Department had already identified 14 districts — Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Virudhunagar, Tiruchi, Tiruvarur, Madurai, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai, Karur, Pudukkottai, and Tiruvallur — as endemic to Japanese Encephalitis. Camps at schools Vaccination was taken up in these districts, and a total of 58,22,906 people have so far benefited from the drive. The vaccination programme would be expanded to seven more districts, and camps would be conducted at government and private schools and Anganwadi centres. Village Health Nurses, who are trained in immunisation, would be involved in administering the vaccine to children aged 1-15 years. Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said a total of 32,64,099 children would benefit, according to a press release. T. S. Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said, 'Whenever we start seeing cases in a particular district or area, we expand the services. This is one strategy to reduce infant/child mortality rate.' He added that the vaccine was supplied free by the Government of India. Noticeable increase in cases In fact, a study taken up by Christian Medical College, Vellore, and the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine found that between 2022 and 2024, there was a noticeable increase in cases (more than five cases) in districts other than the 14 endemic areas such as Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Tenkasi. From January 2022 to December 2024, 306 confirmed cases were reported in Tamil Nadu, with the majority of the patients aged 10-19. Chennai had the highest proportion at 40.5%, followed by Tiruvallur, 8.2%, and Tiruvarur, 6.2%. The highest number of cases — 120 — occurred in 2022, followed by 112 in 2023, and 74 in 2024, the study's authors (Regina Elizebeth Joy et al) said in an article, 'Epidemiological profile of JE in Tamil Nadu, 2022-2024: A secondary data analysis of IDSP'. It was published in the Tamil Nadu Journal of Public Health and Medical Research. The study recommended measures, including more vaccination coverage and monitoring, targeted public health interventions, geographically focused control measures, and investigation into urban risk factors and the need for pre-monsoon preventive measures.
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Primary Health Centres can be approached for hepatitis B vaccine, says TN govt
With a number of private hospitals continuing to face a shortage of Hepatitis B vaccines, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has said that the nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC) can be approached for vaccinating children against hepatitis B as per Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) schedule. Several private hospitals across the State have been facing short supply of hepatitis B vaccines especially for vaccinating their healthcare workers and patients such as those on dialysis. A private hospital in Chennai that administers both pentavalent and hexavalent vaccines containing hepatitis B under UIP currently has adequate stock. The Health department said that there was no shortage of the vaccine in government hospitals. Health Minister Ma. Subramanian recently said that the State had a stock of 6,21,320 doses of the vaccine at present. This was adequate to meet the requirements for 8.5 months. Similarly, 5,52,100 pentavalent vaccines were also available to take care of the needs for the next 2.5 months. T. S. Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health, reiterated that nearby PHCs can be approached for vaccinating children as per UIP schedule. A doctor, who has been closely following the hepatitis B vaccine situation, said that Hepatitis B vaccination in adults is always challenging. It was being implemented by covering key populations who have been screened and found as hepatitis negative before vaccination, he said. Open Vial Policy for hepatitis B vaccine to prevent wastage is one of the main challenges. This allows usage of an open vial for up to 28 days. 'The vaccine is administered to the targeted groups (among adults) after hepatitis B testing. In fact, the test kits are also in short supply' he said.
