Grim reality: Two children sharing a bed in the paediatric ward of King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. more-in At a time when the rampant spread of dengue across the district has kept the authorities on their toes, patients with suspected symptoms from rural, urban and tribal areas throng the King George Hospital (KGH). According to sources, as many as 400 positive cases have been reported in various hospitals across the district this month only and fear is gripping that the incessant rain might fuel the infection rate. Those with severe symptoms are rushing to the KGH, among the premier government referral hospital in the State. Cases reported from private hospitals and diagnostic labs are not being shown in the government records as the officials say that one should not declare a person dengue positive based on random tests. ‘Random tests do not count’ The KGH authorities say that the private hospitals and labs are showing random test results, creating panic among the people. “We confirm the positive cases only after the IGM and IGG tests instead of going by results of the NS-1 antigen test. Even viral fevers are tested as dengue positive in random tests,” KGH Superintendent G. Arjuna told The Hindu on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the heavy influx of patients has resulted in the severe shortage of beds in the paediatric ward of the KGH and the children are being forced to share beds. “We availed treatment at Tagarapuvalasa. When the doctors there declared my daughter Ayeendivi’s condition as serious, we rushed her to a private hospital here. Tests performed there confirmed dengue and we admitted our daughter to the KGH three days ago. The fever is under control now. But, we are sharing the bed with another patient,” said Vanam Ramachandra Rao, a driver. Similar was the plight of Nookaraju, a barber from Madhurawada, who admitted his son Sai Mohit to KGH four days ago with the complaints of high fever and swelling. During a visit to the Dengue Isolation Ward, Panchadi Simhadri, a teacher from Sada panchayat of Anantagiri mandal, said she had admitted her mother Sundaramma, 45, to the KGH after her fever did not subside. ‘No shortage of platelets’ The KGH superintendent said that the hospital had three units with a total bed strength of 90 for children. “We are getting on an average of 150 patients suffering from various ailments. Being a referral hospital, we have to accommodate all of them. Hence, some patients are being provided shared bed,” he said. Stating that dengue situation was very severe in June and July with the KGH receiving on an average 25 to 30 patients a day, Mr. Arjuna said now it had come down to a single digit, adding that the patients were discharged within five to seven days. He denied the shortage of blood for administration of platelets. No need to panic: DM&HO District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) R. Ramesh on Tuesday appealed to the people not to panic over the outbreak of dengue and viral fevers in the district, suggesting it’s time all took measures to prevent mosquito breeding in their respective localities. Blaming the private hospitals and labs for creating panic among people, he said dengue was not a life-threatening disease and one could be cured within five to seven days after being diagnosed positive. “We are keeping a tab on the situation and so far, we have not come across any patient with severe platelet count problem,” he said.

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