The health department has failed to make dengue-testing kits available at primary health centres (PHC), sub-divisional and district hospitals amid rising dengue threat.

Around 150 cases of dengue have been reported from all over the state, of which more than 100 are confirmed. The primary government-run clinical establishments that receive most of the dengue patients at the initial stage are left without any dengue kits.

B.P. Singh, the medical officer in-charge of Phulwarisharif primary health centre, said they do not have any dengue-testing kits. “There is no dengue-testing kit at our centre. The health department should have provided us with the kits because suspected cases of dengue reach to us at the initial phase. Since there are no kits available with us, we are forced to treat dengue patients on the basis of clinical diagnosis.”

The condition of other PHCs and sadar hospitals in rural areas is no different. Lakhan Murmu, the medical officer in-charge of Bihpur primary health centre, Bhagalpur, said: “We do not even have HIV testing kits. We have asked the civil surgeon to provide the dengue and HIV kits to us.”

Binod Shankar Prasad, the medical officer in-charge of Fatuha PHC, echoed the same problem.

However, state epidemiologist Ragini Mishra feels that availability of dengue-testing kits at primary-level clinical establishments is not necessary. “Some of the primary health centres might not have dengue kits, but that does not pose any problem since all the medical college and hospitals have been provided with the same. If the PHCs or other government establishment find any suspected case, they can refer it to the nearby medical college and hospital.”

Countering this opinion, a doctor at PMCH said: “All dengue patients need not to be referred to the medical college and hospitals. Only those patients who are critical should be referred to the medical college and hospitals. Many cases of dengue from the districts are referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital because of lack of testing facility available in the rural health centres. Some of the doctors at the primary health centres and sadar hospitals are not even willing to treat such cases. Many dengue patients from districts come to us with problems that can be treated at the PHC level.”