Long queues at pathology labs

“Do you want to kill my son?” a worried mother yelled at staffers of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in the capital. 

Her son, Mohammad Ali, 13, from Mohammadpur Geneva Camp, has had a 104-degree fever for the past three days.

At the hospital, mother and son were told that until dengue was detected, Ali would not be admitted. He was, however, showing apparent symptoms of the disease, his mother alleged.

 “Why are you taking so long to deliver the blood test reports? We are not being able to start any treatment. The doctors have only prescribed paracetamol to my son who has been suffering from high fever for three days,” she continued. 

While they had to wait for a couple of hours in queue on Wednesday just to get the tests done, Ali, still suffering from high fever, has not yet received the reports -- even a day later.

Another patient with high fever, Nazrul Islam, had gone to the hospital, complying with advice from doctors to get a dengue detection test as soon as the body temperature rose.

“A doctor of the hospital asked me to get two tests done -- CBC and NS1 -- and to meet him after the tests,” said Nazrul, adding that the doctor prescribed only paracetamol until then.

However, Nazrul had to wait in line for two hours in the hospital’s pathology lab just to get a blood test. He then waited for two days for the results, which generally takes five to six hours.

“I am lucky that I was not diagnosed with dengue, but imagine what would the condition of dengue patients be if they got their reports after two days,” he said.

During a visit to the hospital yesterday afternoon, many anxious guardians and patients were seen near the pathology lab, many of them shouting at the staffers due to the delay.

Different private diagnostic centres in Dhaka city are also facing the pressure of pathology tests, especially NS1 test, due to the huge number of people suspected to have the disease.

Panic-stricken people are also rushing to hospitals to be tested for dengue, adding to the pressure hospitals and diagnostic centres are facing.

Director of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital Uttam Kumar Barua said that when the disease outbreak had just begun, they had to conduct around 300 to 400 dengue tests a day.

“But over the week or so, especially once the test was made free, we are having to conduct over a 1000 tests a day.”

He said only six lab technicians are working round the clock in rotation to conduct the tests. “We have already requested the health ministry to provide 15 more lab technicians so that they can handle such a pressure.”

Dhaka Medical College Hospital and some other public hospitals were also struggling to conduct the tests and deliver their reports on time.

DMCH Assistant Director Nasir Uddin said there was a manpower shortage in the DMCH pathology department, which was causing the delay as the number of patients suspected with dengue is huge.

“But they are trying their best,” he said.

DENGUE IN ALL DISTRICTS

After wreaking havoc across the capital, dengue has now spread to all 64 districts of the country, which is a cause for countrywide alarm.

A record 19,513 people have been infected till yesterday, including 3,464 outside Dhaka, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said, adding that 1,712 new dengue cases were reported at hospitals in the last 24 hours since 8:00am on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, two dengue patients died in Suhrawardy Hospital and Mitford Hospital yesterday and the day before, with the death toll rising to at least 46 this year, according to different hospital sources.

However, the DGHS put the death toll at 14.

‘NOT OUT OF CONTROL’

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday said the prevailing dengue situation is alarming and difficult to deal with, but not yet out of control. 

He made the remarks while delivering a speech at a photo show organised by Bangladesh Awami Jubo League, marking the Month of Mourning, at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the city, reports UNB.

“We’ve taken this as a challenge. We’ll confront the situation under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he said.

Quader said there is nothing unique in dengue cases in Bangladesh as it has spread in many other countries of the world.