Mysuru: There is no single death in Mysuru due to dengue since 2014, said District Health Officer Dr. B. Basavaraju. He was addressing reporters at a press conference in city this morning. “Since 2014, no single death has been reported due to dengue and people need not panic as we have taken measures to combat the disease,” he said.

Providing statistics, he said that in 2013, there were 334 positive cases and 3 people died. In 2014, 66 cases were reported and 382 in 2015. In 2016, 582 dengue positive cases were reported and this year 71 cases have been reported and there were no deaths, he claimed.

Dr. Basavaraju said that the district administration, health department and the Mysuru City Corporation have taken enough measures to fight the disease. He said that a meeting with private hospitals was held yesterday. “We have asked them to stringently adhere to clinical procedures on dengue and other vector-borne diseases and warned them of action if they deviate from the protocol,” he said.

“In the name of dengue, patients should not be forced to undergo pricey treatment and the maximum the hospitals and laboratories can charge is Rs. 500 and the same tests are conducted at government hospitals free of cost,” he added.

He said that Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) procedure was a must to diagnose dengue and it is done at the district laboratory which is fully equipped to conduct confirmatory tests on vector-borne diseases.

District Vector Borne Diseases Control Officer Dr. Chidambara and other doctors were present.

The District Laboratory of the Department of Health and Family Welfare will undertake tests of blood samples of suspected dengue cases. He said the tests are done free of cost and asked the public and private hospitals to make use of the service.