Free test allure keeps many visiting hospitals in Punjab
Confusion and chaos seem to be the order of the day with the ongoing dengue onslaught. With the Punjab government’s initiative to provide free blood tests at all teaching hospitals in the province, one could see panic-stricken people of all ages lined up for a Complete Blood Count (CBC) and dengue test. However, not many seem too eager to return for the results.
Different public hospitals in Lahore are holding on to at least 2,000 reports as they wait for people to come and collect them, The Express Tribune has learnt.
On the other hand, there are those who keep going back to get tested over and over again. “The society seems to have developed an odd psyche,” says a doctor at Mayo Hospital. “Just because the test is free, it doesn’t mean you have to keep coming back to get tested for the same thing over and over. This is creating problems for other people who have yet to get tested and also for the hospital administration,” he added.
“We’re already overburdened. People are panicking even if they’ve developed a regular fever or flu. They come rushing back for another test … and what’s worse is, they don’t even bother to collect the reports,” he said.
People should only get tested for dengue if they’ve been running a high fever for four consecutive days, at least, says Dr Shahid Malik, Assistant Professor of Community Medicine at the Institute of Public Health. “CBC is not always recommended for diagnosing every disease. People need to know this and stop panicking,” he said.
Six more die in Lahore
The virus took its toll on six more people in Lahore on Thursday, resulting in their deaths.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that a comprehensive strategy has been evolved to counter the dengue outbreak, and that implementation of the strategy was being ensured.
Sharif also said that a Dengue Eradication Force will be established on a permanent basis which will not only take steps to eliminate dengue virus, but also other viral diseases.
10 more cases in Karachi
Twelve more people have been infected by the dengue virus in Sindh, taking the province’s total to 340.
Of the cases reported on Thursday, 10 were from Karachi and two from Hyderabad.
Dengue reaches Hyderabad
After it struck Karachi and different cities of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, dengue virus has managed to make its way to Hyderabad, where eight cases have been reported so far at Civil Hospital.
Twelve suspected patients are undergoing treatment at their homes.
Haripur in frenzy
The health department in Haripur confirmed on Thursday that they received 79 suspected dengue cases, out of which 21 tested positive, while three died. The number of suspected dengue patients rose from 60 to 79 over the last three days, sources said.
“We have sent samples of the 79 suspected dengue cases to the National Institute of Health (NIH) for further investigation,” Dr Bilal, Deputy Executive District Officer Health Haripur, said while talking to The Express Tribune.
Another case in Gilgit
Doctors in Gilgit put a patient under observation on Thursday, suspecting that he had dengue.
Two people who tested positive for dengue on Wednesday were shifted for treatment to Islamabad and Lahore respectively, officials said.
(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS IN KARACHI, HARIPUR AND GILGIT, AND ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM PPI)
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2011.
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