Meanwhile, some people in West Bengal have tested positive for malaria also.
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Besides coping with the unprecedented rush in hospitals, complaints have been received of patients being turned away from hospitals, inadequate staff strength and shortage of drugs. “There are 42 lakh households in Delhi, and if all of you cooperate then we can together root out dengue and chikungunya from the city”, he told reporters.
Out of the total number of cases, August alone has accounted for 652. And the reports of testing capacity, doctors and protocols state that everything is in place.
“The Centre is reviewing the situation on a day-to-day basis and in fact a meeting has been called tomorrow morning which I’ll be reviewing myself”.
Observing that in addition to lab verified cases, probable cases of dengue, especially during outbreaks need to be reported for a more effective estimate of the numbers, World Health Organization also called for continued investment in enhancing surveillance and laboratory capacities.
He said there was a need to carry out fogging in the whole of Delhi. It was apprised that since January 2016, there have been 17 review meetings (including 3 Video Conference with States). “The second was addressed by the Secretary and the third was done by heads of vector borne diseases”, he said.
An acerbic exchange of tweets between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and journalist Shekhar Gupta illustrated the growing tension in India’s capital over chikungunya, a painful but previously non-fatal mosquito-borne disease that has claimed 12 lives in Delhi this month.
The Centre has requested all States and Union Territories (UTs) to declare dengue as notifiable disease for improving reporting and for taking preventive measures in the affected areas. It needs to be ensured that the environment is not collecting water which could be vector breeding grounds.
He said, he will also meet Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain today on the issue.
He said this put pressure on the medical infrastructure in Delhi, particularly in government hospitals. “Many of the patients diagnosed in Delhi are coming from the NCR region and so fever clinics could also be set up there”.
Municipal health officials said they were working on it.
75-year-old Prakash Kalra of Mathura died last evening at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where three other elderly persons succumbed to the disease on Monday.
Chikungunya is one of four major mosquito-borne diseases reported across India.
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It is important that information from private hospitals is captured and well-represented for better estimation.
