A meeting was held between Union Health Minister JP Nadda & Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain to discuss the issue.


Patients worrying for shortage of beds in government hospitals in Delhi can take heart as the Centre has decided to reserve 10 per cent of the beds in all government hospitals for those afflicted with dengue and chikungunya patients.
Like dengue and malaria, the government on Thursday has declared chikungunya as a notifiable disease. Data and records on number of patients and their mortality rate will have to be maintained on a regular basis.
On Friday, a meeting was held between Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain to discuss the present situation created by the vectorborne disease in the Capital. Chikungunya and dengue continued to wreak havoc in the capital with the death toll from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 30 till Thursday even as the number of affected people crossed 2,800.
"The Centre will reserve 10 per cent beds in all its hospitals in Delhi for dengue and chikungunya patients," Jain said after the meeting with Union Health Minister J P Nadda. This means, there will be 1,000 extra beds for dengue and chikungunya patients at the government hospitals in Delhi.
All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS), RML and Safdarjung hospital are run by the Centre and they witness large number of outstation patients. Seven of the 12 chikungunya victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh, including two from Ghaziabad, and five from Delhi.
DELHI'S BATTLE AGAINST CHIKUNGUNYA

  1. Chikungunya is a viral illness and its symptoms are similar to those of dengue, which include high-grade fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain and headache and joint swelling. It also causes rashes but is not a threat like dengue in which there is a risk of bleeding due to abrupt fall in platelet count.
  2. The sudden spike in chikungunya cases in Delhi and other parts of north India, has come nearly 10 years after a big outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease across the country.
  3. In 2006, over 13 lakh suspected chikungunya fever cases were reported across the country, according to National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP).
  4. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC),which compiles the vector-borne disease cases report on behalf of all civic bodies, had pegged the total number of cases till August 20 at 20.

Chikungunya is taking its toll in the national Capital where the number of cases have climbed to over 1,700 this season and fever clinics are swamped with the ongoing rush of patients.
Seventy-five-year-old J D Madan died on Thursday morning at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH). He was the fifth person to have lost his life to complications triggered by chikungunya, at the hospital in the last five days.
"The patient, a resident of Kalkaji, was admitted on August 12 at night with complaints of fever and chills along with swelling and rashes on his body. He was also a patient of chronic myeloid monocytic leukemia. The hospital has admitted 100 patients till date this season, who have tested positive for chikungunya and 39 for testing positive for dengue," SGRH said.



Delhi government hospitals have been directed not to refuse admission to any patient suffering from dengue or chikungunya.
Five deaths from chikungunya complications have been reported till Thursday at Apollo Hospital. Most of the victims were aged 80 or above. Doctors say that chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease in general, but rare cases lead to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and older people.
Delhi government hospitals have already been directed not to refuse admission to any patient. "At our hospital, about 1,500 beds are lying vacant. The situation in Delhi is under control," Jain added.
In the letter to Nadda on Thursday, Jain had said that due to lack of proper healthcare facilities in neighbouring states, there is pressure on the medical infrastructure in Delhi and hence, there should be a meeting of Health ministers of the NCR region to review the state-wise action required to augment the healthcare facilities for effective tackling of the issue.
Meanwhile, the Centre had sought a detailed report from Delhi government on deaths due to dengue and chikungunya, including medical history of the deceased. The Delhi government has also issued orders to all keep all Mohalla clinics, Polyclinics and dispensaries open for all days including Sundays and gazetted holidays till October 30.