MCD’s dengue data unreliable,says Kiran Walia

In its defence,the MCD maintained that they cannot chase every nursing home owner in the city to notify a dengue patient. “We’ve sent letters to all hospitals but it is not possible to monitor every nursing home. We are following international guidelines and if the Delhi government is not satisfied with those,they should change them,” said Dr N K Yadav,Municipal Health Officer,MCD.

Besides the Delhi government and the MCD,representatives from Sir Gangaram Hospital,Apollo Hospital,Fortis,Max Healthcare and St Stephen’s Hospital attended the review meeting.

According to the MCD,585 dengue cases and two deaths have been reported in the city so far. While two suspected dengue deaths — in St Stephens and Sir Gangaram Hospital — were reported on Monday,MCD maintained that patient serology tests were negative for dengue.

In the meeting,Kiran Walia said the MCD’s inability to reign in private hospitals and the lack of information about the dengue outbreak has led to the situation. She added that MCD had not done its job of preventing mosquito breeding,leading to the outbreak. To streamline the reporting system,she said the Health department has appointed a nodal officer for dengue.

“The figures given by the MCD are not reliable and they are not ensuring that private hospitals notify dengue cases. Health officials have spoken to MCD officials and hospitals about streamlining the system. Our nodal officer will coordinate the efforts. Currently,there is no way of knowing which hospitals are following the rules and which are not,” said Walia.

Expressing anguish over the non-cooperative attitude of the MCD Health department,Walia said the MCD Medical Health Officer was not informing the Delhi government of the total number of dengue cases in various hospitals,though he had been instructed to do so.

“The MCD has not taken preventive measures through the year in controlling water-borne diseases. It is also not sharing information with Delhi government with regard to prevention of water diseases such as dengue,malaria,chickungunya and cholera though these diseases come under the preview of MCD,” she said.