Telangana introduces round-the-clock OPD services in government hospitals to curb dengue outbreak in state

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has taken special measures like opening 24-hour Out Patient Department (OPD) services to control cases of dengue in the state, said state health minister Etela Rajender. [caption id=“attachment_7274321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Telangana health minister Etela Rajender. ANI[/caption] “Special measures have been taken by the government like the opening of OPD services in Osmania General Hospital, Gandhi Hospital, among others, where services are available for 24 hours including on holidays. Tests for dengue are being conducted absolutely free of cost in these hospitals, we have also initiated measures to spread awareness regarding protection from these diseases”, Rajender said. Stating the other measures taken to control the spread of the disease, the health minister said, “We are spraying (larvicide) with the help of drones on ponds, pits and closed river to control the menace of mosquito breeding. We are also fogging in all schools once in 15 days. The GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) is reviewing the work on sanitation and mosquito control every day”. Superintendent of Government Fever Hospital, Dr Shankar, added that the maximum number of dengue cases were recorded in the state in the last one week, but the situation is slowly improving. “The maximum cases of dengue were recorded in the state in the past week but the situation seems to be improving with the efforts of the state administration. The opening of OPDs and other measures will help in controlling the disease from spreading”, Dr Shankar told ANI. “Individuals suffering from fever, body pain, headache, and high temperature ranging around 103 degree Celsius to 104 degree Celsius for 2-3 days continuously should get themselves tested for dengue. The affected persons are advised to visit a government hospital and get admitted so that the treatment can start immediately”, he added.