JOIN USIs the chikungunya outbreak bigger than what is being reported?
The Centre-run Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme is reporting thrice the number of cases (not deaths) that the municipal corporations have collated so far.
There seems to have been discrepancies in the data collation process of vector borne diseases in city. Hospitals are supposed to inform the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the nodal agency for collating data. But the latter says that hospital do not inform the civic agency in time about such deaths.
According to the Centre's Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, the number of cases of Chikungunya so far reported in the capital is 3,358 – about three times the figure (1,057) given out by the municipal corporations in their weekly report on Monday.
Similarly, there is a spurt in dengue cases, which stands at 2,926 till September 13 as against the MCD figure of 1,158 cases till September 10.
Every week the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the nodal agency, prepares the list of vector borne diseases for the entire city.
But the latest weekly municipal report that came out on September 11 missed even the chikungunya death that took place on September 1 at Hindu Rao Hospital, which is under the North Corporation.
Deaths due to vector borne diseases have to be notified with the municipal corporation under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation claimed that hospitals may also be delaying reporting the cases by not informing the civic agency about deaths due to vector borne diseases in time.
On Wednesday, the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital confirmed that five chikungunya deaths took place over the past three weeks.
While the hospital claims that it has informed the Centre's Integrated Surveillance Programme (IDSP) about the deaths, officials at the Delhi unit of the IDSP said that "only one death was reported earlier, rest four chikungunya deaths including the one in August was reported to IDSP on Tuesday".
Even municipal health officer of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, B K Hazarika said that the hospital is yet to report the number of deaths to the civic agency. "So far we have the information about five suspected chikungunya deaths in the city. We have not received information about the rest five chikungunya deaths from Apollo Hospital ," he told Deccan Herald on late Thursday evening.
On Thursday, the chikungunya death toll rose to 13, dengue too has claimed 13 lives so far this season.
According to Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, an 88-year-old A D Kalra, a resident of Lajpat Nagar, suspected patient of chikungunya died on Wednesday. But the hospital did not confirm the death.