Dengue ‘emergency’ in Delhi’s hospitals
On Wednesday, health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj called for a meeting with officials to review the dengue situation in the Capital
With the Capital reporting the highest number of dengue cases this year in July, and the highest for this month since 2018, Delhi’s health department has alerted all hospitals in the city to treat dengue and other vector-borne diseases as an “emergency” for at least the next three weeks.
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All districts have also been directed to submit regular reports of dengue spread and ensure that awareness activities are ramped up.
The latest dengue data released by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi showed that till July 28, the city reported 121 cases of dengue. The only time the July number was higher was in 2018 — the first year after the disease was declared notifiable.
A notifiable disease requires government agencies to mandatorily report every suspected case of the infection.
In contrast, the city logged 26 dengue cases in July 2022, 16 cases in 2021, and 11 cases in 2020. It is important to note that in 2020 and 2021, the surveillance and spread of dengue was limited because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A senior official from the Delhi government’s health department said that directions have been issued to all government hospitals to treat the dengue outbreak as an “emergency”, and to ensure that all patients coming in with symptoms of dengue — including high fever, rashes, body ache, headache and nausea — are tested and provisions are made for their admission in case the need arises.
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“We have issued a detailed set of directions for the hospitals to follow. Experts have alerted us that this year, the situation of dengue spread could be higher than in the last few years. But there is no need to panic. People need to take all precautions, ensure there is no accumulation of water in and around their houses and in their neighbourhoods. One of the unique challenges that we are facing this year is on account of the floods. We are taking all precautions in the relief camps to ensure that these spots don’t become hotspots for the spread of dengue,” the official said.
On Wednesday, health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj called for a meeting with officials to review the dengue situation in the Capital. He also directed that 5% of beds in all government hospitals in the city be reserved for dengue patients, that dengue test results be made available within six to eight hours, and separate wards be reserved for dengue patients.
Seek medical care
Meanwhile, experts said that people need to watch out for symptoms such as high fever that lasts up to five days, rash, nasal and gum bleeding, and general fatigue. They must also refrain from resorting to unscientific home remedies such as taking goat’s milk and papaya leaves and instead seek medical care.
“Dengue does not have any specific treatment. Most treatment is symptomatic as it is a self-remitting illness. Prevention is most important and for that it is important to use proper mosquito repellents to protect from bites. Once person is tested positive, he should drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration. Any painkiller should be avoided as it can increase the chance of bleeding. The only recommended drug is paracetamol for fever,” said Dr Neetu Jain, senior consultant (pulmonology critical care and sleep medicine) at PSRI hospital.