Coimbatore district is well-equipped to tackle swine flu and dengue thanks to the amount of awareness that is prevalent here, Dr. Edwin Joe, the dean of Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital, said on Wednesday.

Briefing reporters about the preventive measures taken by the district administration and CMCH for eradicating the diseases, he said that spreading awareness on how to prevent the disease was a major step. “All the authorities in the administration have involved themselves in the awareness and the administration has been conducting area-wise hygiene checks in order to curb the diseases,” he added.

He further stated that identifying the diseases in the primary stage helps in the eradication process. “We have only one swine flu patient in the CMCH and he was identified in the earlier stages and is doing well now,” he informed.

Dr. Edwin also stated that the occurrence rate too is very low in Coimbatore adding that there are only 33 viral fever patients in the CMCH. “We have further stocked medicines for the next three months to treat patients and can assure that there will not be any fatalities this season due to dengue and swine flu,” he informed.