Karachi sees unprecedented increase in dengue cases

KARACHI:THERE has been an unprecedented increase in dengue fever cases in Karachi.

More than 200 new cases emerged during the last 24 hours. The Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) has asked the laboratories in the province not to charge more than Rs850 for the dengue NS1 antigen test.

The SHCC chief executive officer (CEO), Dr Ahson Qavi, said that following a meeting with representatives of all the private labs in the province, it had been decided that labs and private hospitals would not charge more than Rs850 for the dengue NS1 antigen test.

He explained that as hundreds of patients were getting infected with dengue virus and many of them could not afford to spend Rs1,400 to Rs3,000 being charged by the labs for the dengue test, the SHCC decided to intervene, and after consultations with lab representatives, the cost of the test was fixed at Rs850.

Similarly, he said, the platelet count test or complete blood count (CBC) would cost Rs250 only while the ICT malaria test for the detection of malaria parasite would only cost Rs500 in the province.

The Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) said that after exercising powers conferred under the Islamabad Healthcare Regulations Act 2018, it had fixed the maximum cost of the NS1 Elisa test at Rs1,800.

In a notification issued by IHRA CEO Dr Quaid Saeed, the decision was taken in compliance with a decision taken in a consultative meeting with representatives of private laboratories and hospitals a few days back.

“Every laboratory conducting Elisa for dengue has to mention the following details in its report: Machine used during the test (Elisa), Reagents / Kits with their certification and individual batch number. All private hospitals, laboratories and collection centres are directed to clearly display the dengue test rates and also that in case of any grievances, the patients can lodge a complaint to Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority,” read the notification.