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Repurpose covid beds for dengue treatment: Mandaviya to Delhi govt

The minister was also apprised of the campaign of the Delhi government to sensitize school children on larvae control. Photo: Bloomberg

1 min read . Updated: 01 Nov 2021, 03:50 PM IST Livemint

The Delhi government has declared dengue a notified disease and is monitoring all fever cases, suspected dengue cases and confirmed cases

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In the wake of rising dengue cases and the increasing burden of patients on hospitals, union minister for health and family welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday asked the Delhi government to look into the possibility of repurposing covid-19 beds to treat dengue.

Chairing a high-level meeting with the Delhi government to review public health measures taken for control and management of dengue, the minister pointed out that many poor people have been hit by the disease.

“Primary health care centres may prescribe anti-pyretic drugs to suppress the symptoms without addressing the root cause which may lead to eventual demise of the patient. Since testing is the most important step to identifying dengue, these deaths will not be reported as such and the incidence will continue to be under-reported," said Mandaviya. The minister also directed officials to ramp up testing so that all cases are reported and treated properly.

The minister also stressed the need for effective co-ordination between Centre and states. He observed that some hospitals are over-burdened with dengue cases while beds continue to be empty in other hospitals.

The minister was also apprised of the campaign of the Delhi government to sensitize school children on larvae control.

The Delhi government has declared dengue a notified disease and is monitoring all fever cases, suspected dengue cases and confirmed cases. All hospitals have been converted to sites with zero tolerance for mosquitoes.

Although only 10% of cases are complicated and mortality seldom crosses 1%, all Delhi health said the outbreak shall be contained with the help of all stakeholders. The meeting also discussed the new vaccines developed to target dengue.

Mandaviya directed the union health secretary to identify and send team of experts to states with high active caseload of dengue.