On the other hand, the Delhi Government is not only making arrangements in its hospitals for the people of Delhi, it is also taking good care of large number of patients coming from neighbouring areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Advertisement
Municipal Corporation data puts the number of dengue, chikungunya and malaria infections at 1,158, 1,057 and 21 respectively.
“We used IgM serology on patients earlier but then after finding discrepancy between clinical diagnosis and laboratory tests, we started performing molecular test (RT-PCR) to detect the chikungunya virus from the blood of clinically suspected patients from September 1 onwards”, the doctor said.
“In the middle of reports of the 10th death from the vector-borne disease, the inbound tourist operators are keeping a close watch on the situation”, he added.
The Delhi government on Thursday urged union Health Minister JP Nadda to call a meeting of health ministers of Delhi and neighbouring states to review healthcare facilities. Intensive IEC campaigns have been launched to enhance the level of awareness regarding the promotive and treatment protocols of Dengue and Chikungunya. But surging figures paint a completely different picture, a trend that the Indian health-policy analysts have failed to understand, and thereby tackle. The ASSOCHAM has cautioned the government that with increasing cases of chikungunya and dengue and the kind of negative reaction on the tourists, the traffic is set to drop drastically, leaving a bruising impact on businesses such as hotels, airlines, taxi operators, restaurants etc. When summed up, the combined assault of Dengue and Chikungunya stands at a staggering 40,000.
“Though the hospitals and staff are under tremendous pressure, they must rise to the occasion to meet the challenge”, Jung said in the meeting.
The monsoon months often see a spike in vector-borne diseases, spread by aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which thrive in high humidity and temperatures between 25-35 degrees Celsius.
“Chikungunya medically can not cause death and therefore these deaths reported in hospital would be examined, as to whether there were co-morbid conditions like diabetes or kidney problems in them”.
The woman was admitted to the Shalimar Bagh Fortis Hospital with sepsis and cardiac problem, hospital sources said.
The city has also witnessed the death of 12 persons due to chikungunya till September 15, with the latest being two men – aged 50 and 30 – at AIIMS. “They rush to Delhi hospitals apparently due to lack of proper healthcare facilities in their states”, the minister said.
In the national capital, 12 people have reportedly died from Chikungunya. “And, this could mean the number of cases in Delhi could be much higher than now reported”, he said.
Advertisement
The Lt Governor today took stock of the situation and got feedback from medical superintendents of major hospitals in Delhi and also about the steps taken by Health Department to tide over the current situation.
