Chennai, Oct 5 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu Health Department will increase fogging and other methods to control mosquito breeding as dengue cases are on the rise in the state, officials said on Tuesday.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian had on Monday chaired a meeting of Health Department officials and directed them to take measures for the control of mosquitoes ahead of the northeast monsoon which is slated to arrive in the state from October 15.

Subramanian told IANS that his department as well as the health authorities of Chennai and Madurai corporations are on alert, and urged people to take steps to curb mosquito breeding at standing/stagnant water in and around their homes.

Tamil Nadu has reported 2,930 dengue cases so far in 2021 and of this, 337 are active. There also been two deaths. Around 20 cases are reported per day in the state.

In 2020, on the other hand, the state witnessed 2,410 cases.

Health Department officials said that the state has tested more than 80,000 samples in 2021 which is four times more than the general average testing.

They have, however, warned the public that the disease may go up in October-November as these months are considered as the dengue season and the increased number of cases beforehand is a matter of worry.

Children under 15 years of age are most vulnerable to the disease in Chennai city and Tondiarpet, Ambattur, Teynampet, Kodambakkam, and Adayar zones are the hotspots, according to Greater Chennai Corporation's health officials.

Health authorities have asked people to clear water-logging as well as to prevent water from being collected in pots and other utensils as the possibility of the larvae multiplying in such places are high.