If the two children in Ranga Reddy district limits did not die of dengue, what caused their death?
According to the committee, which conducted an audit into the deaths of the two minors, one from Hafeezpet and another from Narsingi, the children did not die of dengue.
The committee comprises District Medical and Health Officer, District Malaria Officer and some other health officials.
Officials, however, said that in that case, the committee needed to find out the reason for the deaths.
Rapid Diagnostic Test
The panel stated that since private hospitals, where the two children were admitted, conducted Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) instead of MAC-ELISA test to confirm dengue, they cannot conclude that the deaths were due to dengue.
Officials said that since there was 27% chance for Rapid Diagnostic Test to give improper results, which could jeopardise patients’ lives, they asked private hospitals not to use the test for the purpose.
If any private hospital declares a patient dengue-positive, using the RDT and the patient later dies, the committee would not declare it as a dengue death.
When asked if they would find out whether the patients were dying of any other infection or disease, State Health Minister Eatala Rajender said that they would find out the reasons soon.
“We will find the cause of deaths by going through reports. The society needs to know about it. We too need to know for future reference,” Mr. Rajender said at a press conference held after the inauguration of fever wards at Gandhi Hospital in the city on Friday.
What caused it?
Ranga Reddy District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr. K Swarajya Lakshmi said that if they infer that the deaths were not due to dengue, they have to find out if any other preventable cause such as malaria was the cause for the death.
Referring to the death of a minor boy from Hafeezpet, she said that it was found that the boy suffered from viral encephalitis.
