Thiruvananthapuram: Zero dengue deaths still a far cry for health authorities

Thiruvananthapuram: The effort by the health authorities to attain the zero dengue death status is facing challenges with the private clinics and hospitals failing in early detection and lapses in following the treatment protocol mooted by the government. The community medicine wing under the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital has sounded high alert as summer showers are likely to trigger vector-borne diseases especially dengue.

According to officials, a major chunk of the patients depends on small private clinics for dengue treatment. "Following the treatment protocol is the only way to detect dengue cases early. We are yet to achieve the zero dengue death status as the right treatment is delayed often for patients going to these small clinics," said the official. It is learnt that there are around 1585 private clinics in the state.

According to officials, there is no alarming situation in the district as the number of cases being reported in the district is comparatively low compared to previous years. "The trend shows that there will not be any major dengue outbreak in the district this year," the official added.

This year 3 confirmed dengue deaths and 2 suspected dengue deaths were reported in the state. A total of 433 suspected dengue cases and 236 confirmed cases were reported in the state this year till day.

"Thiruvananthapuram used to top the list and now the number of dengue cases has come down as we have a system in place for early detection," said the official.