The debate as to how many people were affected by Dengue in the country rages on. There are incongruities between the information provided by the health emergency operation centre and the control room about the correct number.
Only a few government hospitals, clinics and private hospitals have proper data.
According to the latest information of the control room, 100,282 persons have been affected by Dengue so far and of them, 990,624 have gone home after taking proper medication.
Many doctors claim that many people took treatment at home, instead of getting admitted to the hospital, which has made DATA collection difficult.
From mid-July, the number of Dengue patients began to rise. During August, 52,636 persons got admitted to the hospital----- a record for so many admissions for one disease in one month.
Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has confirmed that of the 204 deaths, 129 were from Dengue.
Many Dengue patients who were in critical condition, did not get admitted to hospitals but went to doctors’ chambers and stayed at home.
A source in a major private hospital in the city says that in July, around 10-12 patients came to the hospital every day; some were admitted whereas others were allowed to go home.
MD of Universal Medical College, Dr Ashish Kumar Chakravarty, said: “Many patients could not be admitted.”
At Apollo, 50 patients had to be turned away every day.
Director General of the health department, Dr Abul Kalam Azad, said: “There were many more patients reporting for treatment than on record; the patients at first were not recorded and we did not ask for numbers. Also, there is no account of patients who went to private medical chambers.”