Seeking leave for an adjournment motion on the issue, CPI(M) member Elamaram Kareem said more than 90,000 persons had contracted fever in the last two weeks in the state and that the situation was getting worse by the day.
He came down on the government handling of the situation and said lack of necessary medicines and doctors in government hospitals had made things 'dangerous'. Moreover,the cost of medicines in the state had gone up steeply, he said.
Replying to the notice, both Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Health Minister V S Sivakumar said all possible steps had already been taken to check the spread of fever.
Chandy said the government was aware of the problems related to 'fever' and was monitoring the situation closely.
Denying the LDF charge that there was shortage of drugs in hospitals, Sivakumar said, the government had ensured that 117 varieties of drugs for fever were available in the government hospitals.
On price rise of medicines, he said, the government has limited powers in this regard. With a view to supply medicines at a reasonable price, the government has decided to open 35 Karunaya Medical shops at various places, he said.