Karimnagar: Not only the government but also private hospitals have been witnessing a surge in cases of dengue and other seasonal diseases in the erstwhile Karimnagar district.
Between January and September, more than a thousand people tested positive for dengue fever in the four districts -- Karimnagar, Jagtial, Peddapalli and Rajanna Sircilla.
However, the health officials stated that not even a single case of death due to dengue was registered to date in the area, which has been seeing a steep rise in the cases, especially for the past two months.
According to a diagnostic centre in Karimnagar , 125 cases were reported in August and 145 in September in Karimnagar district.
Many government hospitals in the erstwhile Karimnagar district were facing a shortage of dengue testing kits, medical equipment, and machinery required for blood work and ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay) tests to diagnose dengue fever.
Karimnagar City Congress president K. Narendar Reddy alleged that many patients were sleeping on the floor as the state-run hospitals were short of beds.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has failed to honour his promise to upgrade the government area hospital in Karimnagar to a 1,000-bed hospital and attachment to a medical college.
In Peddapalli district, a total of 155 dengue cases were reported of which 61 were in September. The government hospital of the industrial area in Ramagundam has been dealing with 400 to 600 outpatients daily.
About 6,000 people suffering from various health problems underwent testing and eight of them tested positive for dengue in the Rajanna Sircilla district.
In Jagtial district, due to lack of medical equipment such as platelet separator and single donor mission, many fever patients were forced to visit private hospitals. As per government data, a total of 105 dengue cases were reported till September. But, unofficial data says more than 350 cases were registered after conducting rapid tests.
Regional medical officer Dr V. Sridhar said the hospitals were reporting cases of mostly viral fever, typhoid and dengue. The patients with mild symptoms were given medicines as out-patients while those with severe symptoms were admitted for treatment in the hospital.
The population of mosquitoes and houseflies has increased in the area due to the water-logging, causing dengue, malaria and typhoid. People should keep their surroundings clean and hygienic and drink warm water to avoid seasonal sickness, he advised.
