Doordarshan Kendra Sri Vijaya Puram will mark National Dengue Day with a special edition of its health slot “Doctors Speak” at 1730 hrs on 16 May, giving residents direct access to one of the archipelago’s senior vector-borne-disease specialists. Ajit Kumar, who doubles as Joint Secretary of the NVBDCP under the Directorate of Health Services, is slated to field live calls on hotline numbers 244745 and 245662.
Producers say the focus will range from household larval-habitat elimination to early symptom recognition and the protocol for platelet monitoring. With pre-monsoon showers already filling roadside puddles, municipal teams are keen to amplify community vigilance and chemical-fogging schedules. Viewers are advised to keep personal details handy for follow-up referrals should in-studio answers require laboratory testing.
The 30-minute segment comes amid a region-wide uptick in dengue alerts, particularly on islands where stored rainwater tanks serve as breeding havens for Aedes aegypti. The health department hopes the phone-in will dispel myths and reinforce the message that prevention hinges as much on civic action as on clinical care.
