New Delhi, October 26
The Dengue management in India leaves much to be desired, with as many as 3,988 cases already reported so far, this year. There have been at least 49-recorded deaths attributed to the outbreak of the viral disease in the country till October 8. All this, despite the government formulating a specific disease-control programme for dengue, for which a separate budget has been allocated in the 11th Five Year Plan.

Last year, Rs 2.50 crore was sanctioned for the purpose; the budget this year has been upped to Rs 16.69 crore. Enhanced allocations have, however, been of little help, with the government admitting to the outbreak of dengue in 12 states and three UTs in India in 2008.

“Normally dengue is reported from 22 states and UTs,” the government reasons, arguing that intensified monitoring and surveillance of the disease has led to better management of dengue cases in the country, and the number of deaths due to the disease has also declined. Case fatality rate, as per the government’s admission to the Lok Sabha in response to a related query, has come down from 1.5 per cent in 2006 to 1.2 per cent this year.

That, however, is hardly a solace, considering dengue outbreak continues across swathes of the so-called developed pockets in northern India, including the states of Haryana and Delhi, which have emerged as the dengue hubs. Together, these two states account for 40 per cent of dengue cases reported from India till October, this year. Haryana leads the pack of 12 states still in the grip of the viral fever, accounting for a whopping 849 cases out of the total 3,988.

Next comes national capital Delhi with 743 reported dengue cases, followed by Gujarat at 366, Tamil Nadu at 314, Maharashtra at 291, West Bengal at 232, Karnataka at 231 and Rajasthan at 204.

Rest of the cases have been reported from Andhra Pradesh (111), Punjab (94), Chandigarh (75), Puducherry (32) and Uttar Pradesh (22).

Among the states hit by dengue this year, Goa has reported minimum cases at 21. As far as dengue deaths go, Maharashtra leads, accounting for 50 per cent of case fatality in India this year. Of the 49-dengue deaths reported in the country till October 8, 20 are from Maharashtra alone, followed by 10 in Haryana. The socially and economically developed states of Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have also contributed a fair share to dengue fatality; together they account for 8 dengue deaths so far in 2008.

A part of the dengue outbreak in the country is attributed to faulty testing, with dengue testing kits not measuring up to the mandatory quality standards. There is evidence (with references to the effect made even by the US Food and Drug Administration) of sub-standard dengue testing kits in circulation in India, with no proper regulatory and monitoring mechanism in place to assure quality.