SRIKAKULAM: Taking advantage of seasonal fevers, spotted in the rural areas in the district particularly, private diagnostic laboratories associated with a few hospitals are falsely confirming dengue fevers after conducting basic screening tests. Though the medical authorities have issued strict instructions to all private laboratories and hospitals that they should not confirm dengue without conducting ELISA test, they are ignoring them to make easy money.
By conducting basic screening laboratory examinations, they are deceiving rural people in the name of dengue. In a fisherman village named Donkuru, situated on the Odisha border, a 25-year-old tested positive for dengue at a private hospital at Ichchapuram and later it was proved wrong in MKCG medical college in Berhampur of Odisha. Many such instances were identified in the village recently.
While the MKCG Medical College in Berhampur of Odisha is situated at a distance of 25 kilometers from the village, Srikakulam RIMS hospital is situated at a distance of 130 kilometers, said Dunna Lokesh, resident of Donkuru. “With this, we mostly prefer Odisha Government Medical College than RIMS of Srikakulam,” he said.
He also said that about 10 persons tested dengue positive in the recent past from the village by the local diagnostic laboratories at Ichchapuram. “When we said that the victim was tested dengue positive in a private diagnostic laboratory in Ichchapuram, the doctors of Odisha medical college scolded and said you cannot confirm dengue with basic tests,” he added.
District medical and health officer Dr S Tirupathi Rao said that since fevers like Malaria and dengue are declared as notifiable diseases, even the private clinics and hospitals must inform government health officials about the details of the cases. Reacting to the NS1 ag test, which is being conducted widely as a screening test for dengue, he said that the doctors and diagnostic labs should not certify positive until it is confirmed after ELISA test.
He also said that the confirmatory test for dengue would be done only at RIMS hospital in Srikakulam. He also said that he would serve notices to such hospitals and clinics. Ichchpaurm rural medical officer N Srinivas Reddy said that no cases of dengue have been diagnosed in the village so far this year despite the widespread of fevers in the district. He also said that no deaths were reported due to fever. However, we will continue the medical camps till the condition becomes normal, he added.