A study has found that respiratory illnesses were high among children aged under five who were living around the Ennore Thermal Power Plant cluster.
More than 63% of the 207 under-5 children in Ennore area reported having experienced one or more respiratory symptoms in the month preceding the survey, the health study conducted by Healthy Energy Initiative and post graduate public health students from the School of Public Health, the SRM Institute of Science and Technology found, according to a press release.
The respiratory infection level found among the children was “very high” compared to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-2021 data for Chennai and Tiruvallur. According to NFHS data, prevalence of acute respiratory infection symptoms of 1% and 3.9% was recorded among the under-5 children in Chennai and Tiruvallur respectively.
