The number of dengue affected people in the State Capital jumped over 800 with the district health department reporting 18 more cases on Thursday. The number of dengue cases in Dehradun district jumped to 809 on the day.
The Assistant director Communicable diseases, Dr Pankaj Kumar Singh said that the 911 people in the State have been found positive for the disease so far. He informed that 59 and 30 cases of the disease have been reported so far from Haridwar and Nainital districts. A health department report informs that 25 dengue patients are admitted in the isolation ward of dengue in the associated hospital of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC). In the Government hospital Roorkee in Haridwar district, 10 dengue patients are undergoing treatment.
With the patient of Dengue continue to swell the private hospitals and labs are reaping a windfall. These labs are charging an amount of Rs 1,800-2,000 for one rapid test of dengue. The dengue scare among people has given these doctors and labs a chance to make a hole in the pockets of the common people.
The Medical Superintendent (MS) of the associated hospital of GDMC, Dr KK Tamta informed that one kit of rapid test comes with a price tag of Rs 1,900 and ten tests can be done with this kit. “The private labs are charging ten times of the cost from the patients which is most unfortunate,’’ he said. On Thursday the Mayor of Dehradun Vinod Chamoli convened a meeting of the owners of private labs and district health department.