Government hospital and health centres in Telangana is flooded with people who are rushing to get themselves tested for dengue, malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases spread during the monsoon season. Amidst such a situation, Telangana Diagnostic Central Hub in Narayanguda is running out of dengue testing kits, reported The Hindu.
Sources to the daily said that tests for confirming dengue could not be performed as Central Hub ran out of the kits on Tuesday, September 3.
Blood and other samples that are collected at Primary Health Centres (PHC), Community Health Centres (CHC), Area Hospitals, District Hospitals are sent for tests to the Diagnostic Central Hub.
The boards, banners placed at Primary Health Centres, Basthi Dawakhanas, and other health centres for the past few days read that diagnostic tests for dengue will be performed free of cost,
anxious patients and their family members are forced to go to government tertiary care hospitals as they are told that the tests are not performed there.
When Telangana Health Minister Etela Rajender visited Government Fever Hospital in Nallakunta on Tuesday, a family of a patient was adamant to take the grievance to him.
According to The Hindu report, Ramakrishna whose 7-year-old daughter is suffering from fever said he took his daughter to PHC in Boduppal on Sunday and though there was board at the health centre which stated "free diagnostic tests would be performed", the service was not available.
He added that the situation was the same at another PHC following which they had to visit Government Fever Hospital in Nallakunta to avail the service. Ramakrishna informed the issue to health
Minister Etala Rajender.
A single dengue kit can test 96 samples. According to the report, two kits each were provided on two consecutive days last week to the Central Hub. Since samples keep arriving from all the
health centres, the kits were not adequate.
The daily informed that the General Manager of Telangana Diagnostics, Dr Priscilla Chandran on Tuesday late evening said they were unaware of the issue and they were not abreast about it. He added that they would resolve the issue soon.
On Friday, August 30, the Telangana High Court expressed serious concern about the spread of dengue fever and asked the state government to inform it about the steps being taken to contain the
mosquito-borne disease and to protect the people.
Dengue, malaria, chikungunya, Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases create menace during the monsoon season. The mosquitoes spreading these diseases breed in stagnant water and therefore, it is of utmost importance to avoid an accumulation of water in the neighbourhood. People should keep the vicinity clean and use mosquito spray, mosquito repellent, mosquito nets to avoid oneself from being bitten by mosquitoes.
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