Rohtak district reports 115 dengue cases; pvt doctors claim under-reporting

Dengue cases have registered a sharp rise in Rohtak district in the past 10-15 days, with the total number of cases reaching 115 on Wednesday.

Private medical practitioners, however, maintain that the cases may have been under-reported as the actual number of cases seems to be considerably higher than the official figure.

"A number of dengue patients have been coming for treatment. We report the confirmed cases to the authorities concerned. However, the official data does not seem to reflect the actual number of cases," claimed Dr Ravi Mohan, a doctor.

Dr Ravinder Hooda, president of the local chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), pointed out that the difference in the number of actual and reported cases might be due to the fact that many patients who tested positive in the rapid card test did not go in for the confirmatory test.

The Rohtak Civil Surgeon, Dr Ramesh Chander, asserted that a well-defined system had been put in place for fool-proof reporting of the actual number of cases. "Only those dengue cases, which are confirmed by the ELISA NS1 antigen test, are put on the official record," he stated, adding that the cases had shown a decline in number as well as seriousness as compared to previous years.

As per official data, 3,825 samples have been collected so far, of which 115 have been found positive. Of the 115 patients, two are undergoing treatment at hospital, while 15 have been discharged and 98 did not require hospitalisation.

Four cases of malaria and one of chikungunya have also been reported from the district to date.