Who really cared about the Dengue outbreak !

Dengue case numbers should be single digit next year onwards says PM (courtesy Kuensel ). A tall order considering the figure nearing 4000 this time and still counting.

I feel we need to thank our stars that Dengue fever  disease is not contagious. Otherwise our hospitals' indiffererence would have the nation facing an epidemic.

" Many cases could not be detected". How could detection be possible using " insensitive rapid test kits " . Pray what does " insensitive " mean in common man language?   Expired or outdated testing kit or inferior  ?  Why use expired testing kits which should have been thrown away?

" Although the report would " clinically " point towards a dengue fever symptom, the result was negative. However, the result came as positive in the private diagnostic centre."

See the difference between paid for medical service at private Diagnostic Centre  and the free medical service at government hospitals. Seems Private centre used valid testing kits and our hospitals used invalid testing kits.

It is a case of homicide when patients die due to incorrect diagnosis derived through deliberate use of  expired testing kits. Dengue fever is not a killer disease though there is no  antidote to treat it. So plenty of bed rest and fluid seems to be the answer.  But if you are tested negative dengue fever by hospital using expired testing kit, you might think it is influenza and therefore take things lightly thereby further endangering your health condition. Thus correct timely diagnosis is so critical. And knowingly using " insensitive rapid testing kits" tantamounts to criminal negligence.

No one individual can be blamed but there seems to be an inherent weakness in the health system and approach. The civil authorities like Thromde and Dhungkhag are left out  from the loop and though doctors suspected about testing kits being insensitive yet same were used anyway and ofcourse wrong results were declared to patients. 

I think PM the surgeon needs to make some " scapel sharp precision "  management decisions to awaken the slumbering and lumbering health delivery system.  We need to prevent such outbreaks and treat right the patients. Both candy and cane are required dosages towards motivating  health personnel's approach to patients and illness.

One ray of hope for better attention in the future is that this time a doctor at Phuentsholing hospital admitted that " insensitive rapid testing kits " were used. Till now Hospital authorities never admitred their own shortcomings even when a kind of infanticide happened at Thimphu General Hospital. The system can be so inhumanly cruel  and be so damn irresponsible.

And another change we desperately need to adopt at all hospital is stop issuing naked medicine tablets especially anti-biotics. There is no way of determing the validity of such tablets. If hospitals can knowingly  use " insensitive rapid testing kits" during an outbreak of disease, a medical storeperson could easily issue expired medicines in naked tablet form. The best doctors and most diligent patients can be defeated  by expired naked antibiotic capsules or  tablets issued without the cover foil wherein the validity is noted.

Thank you national health service people but there is a flaw in service at critical times. At times sincereity and due deligence is sacrificed and perfunctory ( doing for sake of appearing to do ) have set in.  With respects to many dedicated professionals.