Congress expresses concern over rising Dengue cases

Hyderabad: Hyderabad City Congress Committee (HCCC) Minorities Department Sameer Waliullah has urged Health Minister Etela Rajender to take necessary steps on war footing basis to prevent further spread of Dengue and other viral diseases in Telangana State, especially in Greater Hyderabad limits.

In a representation given to the Health Minister on Friday, Sameer Waliullah pointed out several lapses that led to the outbreak and spread of Dengue, Malaria and other vector-borne diseases. "The municipal authorities, District Medical & Health Departments and other concerned agencies have miserably failed to take preventive measures to control the spread of Dengue, Malaria and other vector-borne diseases," he said and alleged that nearly 9,000 cases of Dengue alone were reported in Telangana State during this monsoon. He said several people, including small children and pregnant women, were killed due to Dengue. Almost all hospitals, both private and public, are still getting receiving patients suffering from Dengue, Malaria or other viral fevers, he said.

Requesting the Health Minister not to treat the representation as to the politicisation of health crisis, Sameer said while untimely rains, fluctuating monsoon conditions and other external factors might be responsible for the spurt in the number of Dengue cases, the official negligence was primarily responsible for deteriorating conditions. "The municipal and health authorities have failed in their duties to take precautionary measures. They did not properly map the dengue prone areas nor took up fogging or anti-larval operations. The data of Dengue cases reported in private hospitals was apparently not synced with the official data. There was no coordination or exchange of information between health and municipal departments which delayed fogging and anti-larval operations. Consequently, multiple cases of Dengue cases were reported from specific areas," he said.

Citing instances, he said four members of a family in Mancherial died of dengue within a span of 15 days. If the authorities would have act on time immediately after reporting of the first case, the other three or at least two lives could have been saved. But the authorities remained ignorant till four members of the same family died of same cause, i.e., Dengue.

He said only 30% of patients are visiting public hospitals while rest 70% is going to private hospitals. However, he said a majority of patients and their families were unable to bear the treatment cost in private hospitals. He said a 39-year old man, Y. Narasimhulu, of Hyderabad, who spent Rs. 1 lakh on his treatment for dengue and went into depression committed suicide due to debts. There are hundreds of cases where people have lost their lives as they were unable to bear treatment cost for dengue.

"Total inaction or insufficient measures to tackle Dengue and other diseases are turning the health crisis into a humanitarian crisis. Therefore, this must be addressed on an immediate basis," he said.

Sameer Waliullah said there were many areas in Hyderabad where no fogging or anti-larval operations were conducted. "No awareness drives were conducted at a large scale to motivate people to take precautionary measures. Since no action has been taken any official for the lapses despite the occurrence of thousands of cases and several deaths, there is no feeling of accountability among the staff at any level," he alleged.

The Congress leader urged the Health Minister to conduct a detailed review on the issue by involving officials of not only Medical & Health Department, but also the municipal authorities. "Several families lost their loved ones due to Dengue and other diseases in the last few weeks. The State Government can prevent further damage by taking measures on war footing basis," he said and assured that the Congress workers would support the authorities in the battle against deadly Dengue and other diseases.