Bangalore civic body reports another H1N1 death, hospital denies
Lack of communication and co-ordination between BBMP and private hospitals is putting people at risk in the city.
While people continue to fall prey to the rapidly spreading H1N1 virus, lack of communication and co-ordination between the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and private hospitals is putting people at risk in the city.
On Tuesday, the BBMP claimed that there had been another death due to H1N1. The victim, the civic agency said, was a 30-year-old female named Gayatri from Kolar district who had been admitted to Manipal Hospital. But, surprisingly, the hospital denied the BBMP’s claims.
When DNA contacted Manipal Hospital, hospital authorities said there had been no H1N1-related death in their hospital.
H1N1 is a notifiable disease, which means that every hospital has to inform the BBMP of any suspected case, confirmed case and death due to it. Every day, the civic agency has to compile a list of cases and deaths. But with Manipal Hospital denying the death, and the BBMP insisting that there has been a death, the whole exercise comes into question.
The hospital’s denial has once again brought to the fore the issues of poor co-ordination and the conflict in the exchange of information over deaths due to contagious diseases. Tuesday’s incident is similar to last year’s case when the BBMP sent notices to a few private hospitals for not sharing information regarding dengue and swine flu cases reported there.
While private hospitals do not disclose the details of patients admitted due to such diseases, civic agencies find it difficult to know the proximity of the disease spreading in the city.
KE Manjula, chief health officer, BBMP, expressed unhappiness over the behaviour of private hospitals. “Private hospitals do not even allow us inside the hospitals for verification. They just tell us that if such a case comes up in their hospitals, they will send the details through mail,” complained Manjula.