26 November,2010 07:58 AM IST | | Alifiya Khan
Private practitioners say disease reaching epidemic proportions; municipal corporation maintains only three cases in November
So what is the real dengue story in the city? Private practitioners have been screaming hoarse that dengue cases in the city have reached almost epidemic proportions. The outpatient departments of hospitals and private clinics are teeming with affected patients, while the civic records have a different story to tell.
According to figures available with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), so far, only three people have been affected by dengue this month. If PMC figures are to be believed, only 19 people tested positive for dengue out of 116 suspected cases in the city since January. While PMC stands by the accuracy of its figures, private doctors have rubbished their claims.
"On an average, a doctor has been seeing two patients of dengue daily for past couple of weeks. The numbers have been steadily rising because of unseasonal rain," said Dr Sharad Agharkhedkar, president of the Indian Medical Association, Pune chapter. "Around 10,000 general physicians practice in the city, so if the PMC says there have been only three cases of dengue, one can guess how accurate they are."
Dr Anil Bhandwalkar, president of the General Practitioners Association, said that even by the most conservative estimates, the number of dengue cases recorded could run into thousands in a single month alone.
"Even a single doctor would have nothing less than 15 to 20 cases. I don't know what is the method used by PMC for gathering information," said Bhandwalkar.
While private practitioners ridicule the PMC for its claims, the civic administration in turn is blaming doctors for spreading panic.
"There is no epidemic situation in PMC limits. It is a false impression created by private doctors," said Dr Sadashiv Patole, PMC's insecticide officer. "We give the right figures because we are here for service and private practitioners inflate figures because they want more patients to run to them."
Doctors fear that the recent showers might bring a fresh spur in the already increasing vector borne diseases like dengue and malaria.
"The rain will again lead to water stagnation and breeding of mosquitoes. We urge people to take precautions and not let fresh or unclean water stagnate near their homes," said Dr Devendra Shirole, a family physician.
