ADILABAD: Large numbers of children are down, dengue positive and undergoing treatment in government and private hospitals in the Adilabad region.
Dengue-positive cases are on the rise and children are largely affected. Officials said this may be due to poor sanitation and mosquito menace. Dengue-positive cases are more in Adilabad and Mancherial districts and children are the worst-hit.
According to official sources, 130 dengue-positive cases were confirmed via Elisa test in Adilabad region while 82 dengue-positive cases were reported from Mancherial district in the last two months. Private hospitals are not registering the information about the dengue-positive cases that they have confirmed with a kit test.
A senior officer in the medical department of Adilabad said the number of dengue-positive cases was many times more than the official figures and these did not involve a count of dengue-positive cases treated at private hospitals.
Dengue-positive cases were reported largely in the last one month and many children under the age of 15 years were hit.
The state health department has asked private clinics to get the Elisa tests done at the government hospitals free of cost. “Children are more prone to mosquito bites since they do not cover the lower part of their body with their dress, unlike the elders, and mosquito bites in the daytime are more dangerous.
Private hospitals are exploiting panicked parents worried over the falling platelet counts, which is a common symptom among those suffering from dengue.
It is said that nearly 50-60 per cent of the children below age 15 in the region are suffering from cold, cough and viral fevers due to changes in weather conditions. There were continuous rains for a week earlier and temperatures were down.
