The official figure for the last six months is 54, while data of the past three weeks from three hospitals alone puts the number at 50
Dengue figures in Delhi may have been grossly under-reported, shows an analysis done by DNA. Delhi's all three civic bodies have often been accused of under-reporting dengue cases to escape action. Experts say under-reporting of cases derails action plans to fight the menace.
The official figure for the last six months is 54, while data of the past three weeks from three hospitals alone puts the number at 50.
The number of government hospitals in Delhi is 38. There are about 700 nursing homes as well.
The vector-borne disease that becomes a menace every year between April and October is a notifiable disease. All hospitals and nursing homes have to report dengue cases and deaths to the civic body concerned.
A scrutiny of week-wise dengue reports compiled by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation shows a sudden halt in cases after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal pulled up officials in April and May.
"Cases of dengue and chikungunya are pouring in," said S Chatterjee of the Department of Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo hospitals.
"In the last 20 days, I have seen around 20 cases of dengue in my unit," he added.
Safdarjung Hospital has a similar tale. "In the last 15 days, our unit has witnessed around 15 cases of dengue. And we have six units in our hospital which are also individually treating patients. The figure must be much more higher," said Dilip Kumar, principal consultant, department of medicine.
SP Byotra, department of internal medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said dengue cases, in fact, started coming in earlier this year. "Generally, cases come after adequate rainfall. In the last two weeks, I have seen around 15 cases of dengue," he said.
On March 23, Baijal held a review meeting with the three municipal commissioners on preparations for combating vector-borne diseases in the city. Official reports say not a single case was reported between April 15 and April 29, and May 27 and June 3.
The spokesperson of the North and East corporations, YS Mann, said, "If private hospitals are getting increased number of cases, it is their duty to inform the health officer of the local civic body. Each corporation has a committee, which goes through the diagnosis charts of all hospitals to assess the number of cases."
The Delhi High Court last week scolded the agencies for not being able to keep the city clean, inviting a host of diseases.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has in its recent report also pulled up the civic bodies for not taking effective measures to control dengue despite having adequate funds.
THE MENACE
- The official figure for the last six months is 54, while data of the past three weeks from three hospitals alone puts the number at 50.
- All hospitals and nursing homes have to report dengue cases and deaths to the civic body concerned.
- Experts say under-reporting of cases derails action plans to fight the menace.
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