The Telangana state government seems to have been jolted out of slumber regarding dengue after a 13-year-old student died due to the mosquito-borne disease. The death has triggered protests by parents at a private school over alleged unhygienic conditions. It was earlier this week when the state’s Health Minister responded to media reports that put the number of unconfirmed dengue deaths at around 50. He said that it was difficult to say how many lives had actually been claimed by the mosquito-borne disease this year.
“We cannot say how many died of dengue this year. The reason for all the deaths recorded in the hospitals will be analysed to check whether they were caused by viral fever, dengue or influenza and then cross-checked by an expert committee before an announcement can be made. We can only make an announcement after the entire process is concluded next year,” state health minister Etela Rajender had told the Times of India.
The Deccan Herald now reports that the government has started taking steps to keep under check dengue, malaria, chikungunya and other mosquito-borne diseases by clearing garbage and improving sanitation.
This came under action after hundreds of concerned parents gathered at the Gitanjali Devshala School and protested against the alleged unhygienic conditions there. The protest took place after a class eight student, T John Elisha, succumbed to severe dengue and multi-organ dysfunction on August 31.The private hospital where the teenager underwent treatment has confirmed the prognosis.
A ninth standard student of the school was quoted as saying, “The condition in the school and surroundings is not clean, with open drainage flowing close to a school ground.” Parents also alleged that at least 50 students from the school were diagnosed with viral fever, suggesting lack of hygiene in the school.
As many as 530 confirmed cases of dengue have been reported from all over Telangana in the past one month with the health department stating that the number of suspected dengue cases has almost doubled compared to the previous year from 2113 to 1012.
Rajender, who visited the Government Fever Hospital in Nallakunta, Hyderabad, refused to confirm the death toll due to dengue. “Not all fevers are dengue cases,” he said, adding, “Out of the 25,000 outpatient registrations in Fever hospital, the main centre for fevers in Telangana, in the month of June, only nine were confirmed dengue cases. And in August only 61 were diagnosed with the fever while 51,000 patients registered at the OP.”
The minister said he ensured that the number of consultation counters was increased to cope up with the incessant inflow of patients complaining of severe fever and body aches.
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