Dengue epidemic

Private labs looting people in name of tests

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Oct 03: The private labs of district Samba looting the innocent people by providing them fake medical reports and showing them positive for dengue.

Sources said that people of Samba are living under constant threat of dengue as the private labs operators in the district misguiding them making extra bugs by sending them outside state for treatment.

Talking to TNI Director Health Services, Jammu, Dr B S Pathania these tests of dengue were conducted in some private labs and without getting our help adding that we are concerned over misleading of people by private labs, who claim that they conduct tests for the dengue fever at their labs," Dr Pathania said.

He further said they too had got reports from Samba that some laboratories, for their own interest, were sending patients to Ludhiana by manipulating the medical reports of patients.

“We have taken up the issue with the Deputy Commissioner, Samba, and our team is verifying the facts about this kind of malpractice,” he added.

Official said that more than 70 cases were detected positive after dengue test in Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu adding that the test is only done at the GMC in the Jammu region.

“Some of the private medical laboratories at Samba, on the basis of the Rapid Test, send patients to Ludhiana, saying that Jammu doctors cannot treat the disease properly,” a source said.

“For these tests, laboratories in Samba charge Rs 700 from a patient. But because of the nexus, it makes them earn in lakhs,” the source said.

The health department has also constituted several field teams to create awareness among the people about the disease.

Dengue is an acute fever caused by a virus and has two forms of dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever which is more severe with bleeding and sometimes with shock, which may lead to death too.