Hyderabad faces health crisis as dengue, viral fever cases surge

Private nursing homes, clinics, and the outpatient departments of Fever Hospital, Gandhi Hospital, and OGH are experiencing a steady increase in patients with viral fever and dengue symptoms. With more rainfall expected, Dr. B Ravinder Naik, Director of Public Health, has issued a warning urging residents to focus on preventive measures to curb the spread of disease.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad is grappling with a seasonal health crisis, as cases of dengue and viral fevers have gone up considerably in the last few weeks.

Private nursing homes, clinics and outpatient wings of Fever Hospital, Gandhi Hospital and OGH are recording a consistent surge due to steady influx of patients with typical symptoms of viral fevers and dengue.

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With the prospect of more rainfall on the horizon, the Director of Public Health (DPH), Dr B Ravinder Naik on Wednesday has issued a warning, urging residents to prioritize preventive measures to mitigate the spread of disease.

At Gandhi Hospital, a majority of patient walk-ins at the OP wing are related to fever cases or individuals with dengue-like symptoms.

. At present, the OPD at Gandhi Hospital and OGH is hovering between 1500 and 2000 patients per day each while the daily new OPD paid visits at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) are close to 650.

In the last few days, at Fever Hospital, the OPD visits of patients has increased from an average of around 600 patients to 850 patients in the last few weeks.

Based on the available data on dengue related cases, between June and till August, a total of 4395 dengue positive infections have been registered in Telangana out of which 85 percent to 90 percent are from Hyderabad alone.

This August (till now), a total of 1751 dengue positive infections have been reported from Hyderabad alone while another 310 and 399 cases have been reported from Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts.

Reports have also indicated that at least five people have lost their lives due to dengue.

On Wednesday, former Health Minister, T Harish Rao on social media platform X said, “Exactly a month ago, we warned the State government about this kind of situation. Timely release of funds to conduct preventive activities in all the districts was the need of the hour. The impact of seasonal ailments can only be reduced by taking preventive activities before the onset of monsoons,”

Dengue positive cases in 2024: January-April (2024): 678; May(2024): 113; June (2024): 1078; July: 1461; August: 1856.

In 2023: Total: 8016 positive cases

In 2022: 8972 positive cases

In 2021: 7135 positive cases

In 2020: 2173 positive cases