Make dengue test free

Bangladesh has been reporting around 100 hospitalised dengue patients every day. The mosquito-borne viral disease has also killed 17 people so far this year, of which 14 were reported in the Dhaka city. The gradual increase in dengue infections has created panic among the residents of Dhaka city. The rise in the treatment cost of dengue, however, has pushed people of low- and fixed-income groups into difficulty. The treatment cost for a dengue patient is reported to have reached as high as Tk 60,000 to 70,000 in some private hospitals.
In this situation, the health ministry has set the cost of the NS-1 antigen test, used to diagnose dengue patients, at Tk 100 in public hospitals and Tk 300 in private hospitals. This means people will not get the free dengue testing facility at public hospitals anymore, even as the number of dengue cases remains high in the country. Most private hospitals, on the other hand, are not following the government decision and charging exorbitantly for dengue tests. The authorities concerned should make dengue tests free at public hospitals and fix fees for all other relevant tests of dengue at private hospitals. What is also of utmost importance is that they should step up measures to contain the dengue outbreak.
Sirazi Shahjahan,
Malibagh, Dhaka,
mshaju001@gmail.com