Villages, towns in Chittoor district under blanket of fevers

Tirupati: Almost all hospitals, private and government, have been witnessing a spurt in viral fever cases as the district has been receiving rains with the onset of the monsoon. Patients are suffering with fever related problems like body aches, respiratory and throat infections etc. are flooding to the hospitals and the number is increasing with each passing day.

Entire district is under the blanket of fevers but the situation is more serious in areas like Madanapalle, Thamballapalle, Satyavedu, Srikalahasti and Nagari. On the whole, more than 50 dengue cases were reported in the district in government hospitals alone, though officials were tight lipped on the figure.

In Sri Venkateswara Ram Narain Ruia Government General Hospital. popularly known as Ruia hospital, the medicine ward and paediatric wards were full with fever patients. About 238 fever cases registered in this hospital on September 17 which includes 146 paediatric cases.

Out of these 238 cases 17 blood samples were collected and four of them are tested dengue positive, said hospital Deputy Civil Surgeon RMO Dr EB Devi. In Chittoor government hospital also number of children were admitted with fevers and each bed is allotted to two children there.

The patients attendants were complaining that there was no proper monitoring and the number patients at children ward is increasing. More or less similar situation is seen in other government hospitals. Officials were saying that no confirmed dengue deaths are there though suspected deaths were recorded.

At the micro biology laboratory of SV Medical College 24 samples were tested in July which has witnessed a steep rise in August to reach 104 samples out of which 12 samples are tested NS1 positive.

Similarly, 135 samples were tested for typhoid in August and 129 for Malaria though number of positive cases are less. District Collector Dr N Bharat Gupta has been monitoring the situation with district medical and health officials and directed them to take preventive steps on war footing.