Two thousand and counting. Dengue in Telangana has affected more people this year than last two years. The State, however, is unlikely to mount a fighting response given that the real impact of the health emergency remains hidden in the wards of private healthcare.
Till date, 2,034 dengue infections were confirmed this year in Telangana from over 10,000 suspected cases. The government has claimed three deaths though the tally could be higher if reports of deaths from private healthcare are considered. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare declared dengue a notifiable disease in June this year, making it mandatory for private healthcare to report incidence of disease. Claims of the State’s medical administration, however, suggest that compliance is far from complete.
“Baring a few private institutions, most of the dengue cases data are from government hospitals. Private hospitals are not reporting the disease,” informs Lalitha Kumari, State’s Director of Public Health.
Among residents in the State capital Hyderabad, government records show 371 dengue infections confirmed from over 3,000 suspected cases, a bulk of infections being presented at the State-run Sir Ronald Rose Institute of Tropical and Communicable Disease, popularly known as Fever Hospital. Several private hospitals treat dengue, but notification is not the norm. Private practitioners blame logistics in the notification scheme. “As per the notification rules, we inform the district medical officer about cases. However, for the government to include in the records, testing has to be done at sentinel hospitals notified by the government,” informs Narasinga Reddy, President of Telangana wing of the Indian Medical Association. “Given that dengue is treatable today, it is hard to imagine why private practitioners would take the trouble of ferrying a few samples to these government hospitals for testing and confirmation. The district health administration has to handle the logistics.”
The situation in Khammam, State’s worst hit district this year with 928 confirmed infections from over 2,000 suspected cases, is grim. Health Minister C. Laxma Reddy visited the district on Tuesday and met ailing patients in most-affected areas, where he stated Telangana was geared up to counter the disease. Khammam had reported an outbreak as early as in September this year when 22 cases were reported from a single PHC in Singarayapalem village. The district has seen a surge in infections in the past week and multiple reports claim a death toll of 23.
However, Dr. Reddy attributed only two deaths to dengue in the State.
“Public health suffers without accurate data. Whether a disease is epidemic or has become endemic along with its morbidity and mortality factors cannot be known until rigorous data is available. The government’s data is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Raghupathy Anchala, associate professor at Public Health Foundation of India’s Indian Institute of Public Health in Hyderabad.
Dr. Anchala suggested adopting notification scheme followed in the National Tuberculosis Control Programme. “Preparing a format for reporting and enabling SMS-based communication has ensured about 80 per cent compliance with regard to TB reporting from private healthcare in the country,” he said.
