Dengue: Ministry waits for 1,000 to call it ‘Epidemic’

Nov 01, 2012 - Rashme Sehgal |

Age Correspondent

A major dengue epidemic is sweeping the country but the health ministry continues to be in denial.
All the leading private hospitals in Delhi, including Fortis, Max Healthcare, Apollo Hospital and Batra Hospital, are flooded with dengue patients and on any one day these hospitals have been handling over 150 dengue patients.

Beds have been placed in waiting spaces of the larger hospitals to treat additional patients. But officials insist the number of dengue cases is still inching towards the 1,000 mark and therefore cannot be called an “epidemic”.
Dr Deepak Yadav, a Delhi-based paediatrician who has been dealing with dengue amongst children, feels figures being put out the government are “clearly fudged”. “The reason for this is that a large majority of people cannot afford the dengue confirmatory NS1 test (`1,500-`2,000) which is not accepted by the government,” said Dr Yadav.

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