AHMEDABAD: At the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak here, the state government sought help from private medical practitioners to report all cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) to the health department. This was also made mandatory for the government-run clinics.
A little more than a month after the first case was reported, the state health department said of 2,178 Covid-19 cases recorded till the evening of April 22, only 22.7% or 496 had been identified through this method. All the other cases were identified through the patient’s travel history, contact tracing or community-level scanning. Data from the health department shows that of the Covid-19 positive cases with ILI and SARI, only 16 were identified through reporting of private hospitals/practitioners. All of these cases were not even tested. The dat reveals that of the 25,000-odd ILI cases, samples of only 15% were taken for Covid-19 testing. The ratio was better in SARI cases, where 83% were tested.There was no uniform reporting of cases across the state – of 390 Covid-19 cases with SARI reported from government hospitals, 218 were reported from Surat city alone, followed by 71 in Ahmedabad. Likewise, of 90 ILI cases, 66 were from Ahmedabad city.Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health and family welfare), said that the symptoms help identify the Covid-19 cases quickly and reporting has been made mandatory.
“We have also encouraged doctors to download the DrTeCHO app for reporting of these cases,” she said. As of Wednesday, about 3,500 doctors had downloaded the app, health department officials said.
“Covid-19 attacks the respiratory tract and death takes place when respiratory failure happens. Before the critical condition, a patient develops signs and quick identification can be life-saving. Often, patients come late to the formal medical setting,” said a health department official, adding that a large number of Covid-19 patients in Gujarat remained asymptomatic for long and thus had not been detected through the medical setting.
A little more than a month after the first case was reported, the state health department said of 2,178 Covid-19 cases recorded till the evening of April 22, only 22.7% or 496 had been identified through this method. All the other cases were identified through the patient’s travel history, contact tracing or community-level scanning. Data from the health department shows that of the Covid-19 positive cases with ILI and SARI, only 16 were identified through reporting of private hospitals/practitioners. All of these cases were not even tested. The dat reveals that of the 25,000-odd ILI cases, samples of only 15% were taken for Covid-19 testing. The ratio was better in SARI cases, where 83% were tested.There was no uniform reporting of cases across the state – of 390 Covid-19 cases with SARI reported from government hospitals, 218 were reported from Surat city alone, followed by 71 in Ahmedabad. Likewise, of 90 ILI cases, 66 were from Ahmedabad city.Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health and family welfare), said that the symptoms help identify the Covid-19 cases quickly and reporting has been made mandatory.
“We have also encouraged doctors to download the DrTeCHO app for reporting of these cases,” she said. As of Wednesday, about 3,500 doctors had downloaded the app, health department officials said.
“Covid-19 attacks the respiratory tract and death takes place when respiratory failure happens. Before the critical condition, a patient develops signs and quick identification can be life-saving. Often, patients come late to the formal medical setting,” said a health department official, adding that a large number of Covid-19 patients in Gujarat remained asymptomatic for long and thus had not been detected through the medical setting.
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