Govt confirms fourth dengue death

This year,according to government guidelines,only test reports confirmed through the ELISA technology are being treated as confirmed cases. This,according to Dr N K Yadav,municipal health officer of the South corporation,is as per central government guidelines for the high number of false positives attributed to the rapid diagnostic test kits.

Meanwhile,the number of cases continues to rise steeply with the civic bodies confirming 2,916 cases of dengue till October 7. In 2010,when the last major outbreak of dengue was seen,3,782 patients were diagnosed in the same period. The government and corporations are on a drive to control the spread,because the number of cases have been seen to show the steepest rise over October-November. In 2010,by December-end,cases had increased to over 6,000 from 3,782 cases till October 7. In 2011 and 2012,cases rose to 1,131 and 2,093 respectively by the end of December,from 169 and 314 diagnosed cases till October 7.

“Leaves of domestic breeding checkers have been put on hold,and we are maintaining very strict surveillance,with officials being held accountable for any rise in cases or deaths from their areas. Last week,we took action against health department officials from Rohini,” a civic health official said. This year,North corporation areas with 1,400 cases have shown the highest number of cases,followed by South and East corporations at 762 and 617 respectively.

As the cases continue to show a steep rise and hospitals report a shortage of beds,the Delhi government has issued orders to all private hospitals registered under the Delhi Nursing Home Registration Act,1953,asking them to increase the bed capacity for dengue patients by at least 10 in “small and medium size hospitals”,and more if needed in “bigger hospitals”.

Doctors in private hospitals in the city,which are reporting a crumbling shortage of beds say rapid kits provide a cheaper alternative and treatment is not affected,since dengue has to be treated on the basis of symptoms. “If patients who test positive from the rapid tests are taken into account,the cases will rise to 3-4 times the present number. The government is not considering these cases to make the situation seem manageable,” a doctor from a leading Central Delhi trust-run hospital said.

Microbiologists say anti-mosquito activities are important and that the patterns of annual virus outbreaks in the past have shown that cases peaked every 2-3 years. “Dengue has four strains and while type I and III have been observed to be the most common in Delhi,patterns change every few years. Last year,we had identified a considerable number of cases of type II for the first time since 1996,” a microbiologist from AIIMS explained.

In preliminary serological tests conducted this year,scientists from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC),who were monitoring the situation with the Delhi government,had identified some cases of type II. “The type II strain is known to cause severe symptoms like haemorrhagic fever and shock. But after initial cases,we are seeing more of type III and type I this year,where symptoms are of the classic dengue fever without shock. But if any strain is diagnosed late,when blood platelets start falling,it can lead to severe symptoms,” a microbiologist from NCDC said.