‘Punjab may ban Rapid Card Test for Dengue’

Bathinda, September 18

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A week after the Delhi government announced its decision to ban the Rapid Card Test (RCT) for dengue, Principal Health Secretary Vini Mahajan also announced today that the Punjab government may also ban the sale and use of the RCT for detection of dengue since its results are not always “conclusive and reliable”.

Vini was in Bathinda today to take a stock of the dengue spread in the city where close to 450 cases have been reported which is the highest in the state. As many as 1,400 patients have tested positive for the disease in the state till now.

Following reports of private laboratories and hospitals fleecing patients in the name of the disease, the principal secretary also announced that doctors and laboratories found to be flouting rules and spreading panic among patients by treating them for dengue even if they don’t have the disease will be booked.

“The Health Department, the district administration and the police department have to come together to monitor the treatment of patients at the government as well as private health centres and make sure that the doctors take it as a responsibility and not turn it into a business,” she said.

She also added that the private hospitals and doctors must coordinate with the government and share information and data pertaining to suspected and confirmed dengue patients so that a conclusive report may be compiled by the health department and immediate steps may be taken to control the spread of the disease. “Don’t create panic, just coordinate,” she said during her visit at the Civil Hospital. —TNS