Three persons have lost their lives due to dengue and ten new cases are being referred to Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences here every day. But ironically, the centrifugal machine costing crores of rupees that has been installed to treat dengue patients, is gathering dust.
The patients admitted to the hospital are shifted to hospitals at Mysore and Bangalore when their platelets count comes down, have to spend lakhs of rupees for medical expenses.
While the patients detected of dengue are being shifted to hospitals in other cities, the institute however has not been utilising the equipment.
Platelet count in blood reduces drastically in patients suffering from dengue, making it mandatory for platelets transfusion. Karnataka Aids Prevention Society had provided the equipment to the MIMS, but till now the machine has not been used.
But MIMS Superintendent Dr K M Shivakumar said that there was no suitable place to install the equipment that was received a year ago, and hence it had remained unused.
He however added that a new room was under construction, where it was planned to install the equipment, he added.
Construction
But questions are being raised on whether the institute requires more than one year to complete the construction of a 500 sq ft building.
From January, around 160 dengue cases have been reported in the district. Three persons, one each from Srirangapatna, Malavalli and Maddur have died of suspected dengue, as the results are still awaited.
According to reports, it has been confirmed that 51 from Mandya taluk, 36 from Maddur, 32 from Malavalli, 16 from K R Pet,10 from Srirangapatna, nine from Nagamangala and six from Pandavapura taluk suffered from suspected dengue.
Eight to 10 cases of suspected dengue are admitted to the hospital every day. Asha workers have been creating awareness on the dengue fever in rural areas said District Surveillance officer Dr Gangadhar.
‘Machine yet to be bought’
When Deccan Herald contacted MIMS Director Dr Pushpa Sarkar seeking her permission to take a picture of platelet conversion machine, she said that there was no such equipment in the hospital. “A building is under construction to set up the equipment, which will be completed in five months. Only after that the equipment will be bought,” she added.