COIMBATORE: With dengue cases surging in the city and private hospitals fleecing patients without even having proper ELISA kits, the Corporation has urged the public to go to CMCH if they develop prolonged fever and other symptoms.
An announcement from the Corporation’s health wing said that private hospitals are admitting fever patients for over two weeks and fleecing them, while lacking proper ELISA test kits to diagnose dengue. As a result, patients are approaching CMCH when their health condition worsens.
The health wing has reiterated that CMCH is the only government-recognised hospital in the city to do ELISA test free of cost.
“Those suffering from prolonged fever along with skin rashes, vomiting and eye pain for two or more weeks should approach CMCH and test for dengue. We can be able to cure dengue only when the patients approach the hospital at an early stage,” said City Health Officer K Santhosh Kumar.
He claimed that the city has not witnessed a dengue death so far even as residents complain that the civic body has failed to control breeding of mosquitoes.
“We have enough supplies to prevent mosquito breeding and the sanitary workers are routinely checking their ward and carrying out source reduction works,” Santhosh Kumar said.
When compared to the 58 cases in November last year, this year there have been only six cases so far this month. Similarly, 72 dengue cases were reported in October 2012, 24 in 2013, and 34 cases in 2014 and only nine cases reported this year.