The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is underreporting the number of dengue patients. An analysis of the data shows that it reported 61 per cent fewer patients at four hospitals in the capital on Monday.
Two Prothom Alo correspondents visited Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Mugda Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital on Monday to collect data on dengue patients.
They found that the DGHS Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room’s press release reported fewer patients admitted to each of these institutions than the actual figures.
The Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room regularly publishes dengue statistics from 77 public and private hospitals in Dhaka city, as well as all public hospitals and some private hospitals in the 64 districts.
Various media outlets publish these statistics as news reports. Donor agencies, research institutions and government policymakers also use the same data.
Ismat Ara, acting official of the Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room, told Prothom Alo on Monday evening, “We publish the statistics sent to us by the hospitals. There is no scope for us to publish incorrect statistics.”
Figures do not match reality
Mugda Medical College Hospital treats dengue patients on the eighth, 11th and 12th floors. When Prothom Alo visited the hospital at 1:30 pm on Monday, a crowd had gathered in front of the four lifts on the ground floor. A Prothom Alo correspondent took the stairs and first went to the pediatric ward.
The pediatric ward is on the eighth floor. The ward treats children suffering from dengue and measles, as well as several other illnesses. The ward had 47 children with dengue.
The hospital authorities have designated the 11th floor as a dengue ward for male patients and the 12th floor for female patients. There were 89 male patients and 85 female patients.
Prothom Alo counted 221 patients in total. According to figures provided by the hospital authorities, 223 patients were admitted on Monday. The Prothom Alo count did not include patients staying in cabins.
The hospital authorities also said that 4,199 patients had been admitted there from 1 January to Monday.
The Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room’s press release said that 49 patients were admitted to Mugda Medical College Hospital on Monday. This was 174 fewer than the figure provided by the hospital.
According to the Control Room, 1,773 patients had received treatment at the hospital from 1 January to Monday. This figure was 2,426 fewer than the hospital’s reported total.
Dengue patients receive treatment in wards 402, 502 and 702 of the new building of Dhaka Medical College (DMC-2). Ward 702 is for female patients.
The discrepancies and tendency to underreport dengue patient data are deeply regrettable and, at the same time, dangerous. If the figures are underreported, the actual situation cannot be understood and the problem cannot be addressed properly.Mushtuq Husain, a public health specialist and former principal scientific officer of the IEDCR
Prothom Alo visited the three wards at around 3:00 pm and counted 128 patients. This matched the figures provided by the wards. However, the nurses on duty told Prothom Alo that dengue patients are also initially admitted to several other wards apart from these three. There is also a pediatric ward.
However, information provided by the hospital director’s office said that a total of 200 patients were admitted on Monday, including 31 children.
The Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room reported that 105 dengue patients were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday, Monday. This was 95 fewer than the figure provided by the hospital director’s office.
According to the director’s office, 2,399 patients had been admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital from 1 January to yesterday, Monday. In contrast, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Control Room recorded 2,127 patients, a discrepancy of 272.
Similar discrepancies emerged at two other hospitals. According to figures provided by Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, 242 patients were admitted there yesterday. The DGHS Control Room, however, reported 154 patients, undercounting the number by 88.
The hospital authorities said a total of 3,638 patients had been admitted this year, while the DGHS Control Room reported 2,896. The figures differed by 742.
According to information provided by the director’s office of Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute, 152 patients were admitted there yesterday. The DGHS Control Room, however, reported only eight patients, undercounting the figure by 144.
The director’s office said 432 children had been admitted and received treatment at the hospital from January to yesterday. The DGHS Control Room reported 242, undercounting the figure by 190.
Across the four hospitals, 817 patients were admitted yesterday, while the Control Room reported 316. The DGHS therefore underreported the number of patients by 501, or 61 per cent.
The DGHS does not receive data from all private hospitals and clinics in the capital. Similarly, it has no mechanism to collect data from all private hospitals outside Dhaka.
In addition, many patients receive treatment at physicians’ private chambers. As a result, it is not possible for the DGHS or the Control Room to record the actual number of dengue patients.
However, the DGHS regularly collects data from hospitals from which it can obtain information. Yet it is not updating the data from those hospitals properly, resulting in discrepancies.
Consequently, the media are not getting an accurate picture of the dengue situation, while policymakers are also unable to understand the actual situation. In future, no one will be able to use these data with confidence.
Mushtuq Husain, a public health specialist and former principal scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told Prothom Alo, “The discrepancies and tendency to underreport dengue patient data are deeply regrettable and, at the same time, dangerous. If the figures are underreported, the actual situation cannot be understood and the problem cannot be addressed properly. This will increase the risk of dengue spiralling out of control. This needs to stop immediately.”
In a press release yesterday, Monday, the DGHS Control Room said that 1,655 new dengue patients had been admitted to hospitals across the country in the previous 24 hours, from 8:00 am on Sunday to 8am on Monday. During the same period, six people died of dengue.
This year, a total of 63,627 dengue patients have been admitted to hospitals, while 190 people have died of the disease.