The government’s disease monitoring arm has refuted media reports on chikungunya saying 'confusion' has been created over the number of people suffering from the viral disease.
Published : 10 Jul 2017, 12:21 AM
The IEDCR released a statement on Sunday saying the story of one in 11 people suffering from this Aedes Aegypti mosquito-borne disease being published in the media is “not correct”.
It pointed out that the report might have been picked up from an incomplete telephone-based survey of the IEDCR.
It had conducted a telephone-based survey among 4,775 people. Of them, 357 gave the information that they were suffering from fever and joint pain, the symptoms of chikungunya.
But they were not tested later for the confirmation of the disease. The IEDCR said the survey was still ongoing and data compilation and analysis incomplete.
Based on that survey, none should come to any conclusion, the disease monitoring agency said.
It does not provide any information regarding the number of chikungunya patients but give an idea about the presence of the disease, said the statement.
The High Court on Sunday issued a rule asking why it will not order authorities to compensate patients diagnosed with chikungunya.
However, IEDCR had advised the people from the beginning not to trouble themselves with running tests for the disease since it does not have any treatment.
Both dengue and chikungunya show some common symptoms such as fever and pain.
But in chikungunya the pain is so severe that people cannot move. It involves all the joints, doctors say.
It can be misdiagnosed, but both of them have no specific treatment.
Treatment is mainly focused on relieving the symptoms. Paracetamol is the drug of choice for relieving both fever and pain. So there is no need to wait for testing, experts say.
General awareness is important as the Aedes mosquito usually breeds in a small collection of clean water in and around houses, such as inside a flower vase.
Intermittent rains cause a proliferation of the breeding when water accumulates in different containers around homes.
The IEDCR advises removal of all open containers with stagnant water in and around the houses on a regular basis – flower plates and pots, used tyres, tree holes and rock pools.
However, the institute could not explain the reports of widespread fever in the capital.