Health dept set to formulate new protocol to treat Covid & dengue patients simultaneously

Kolkata: State Health department will formulate new protocols for the treatment of the patients who will be affected with COVID-19 and dengue simultaneously.

State Health department apprehends that if the number of dengue cases increases in the state along with COVID, it will become more challenging for the department. COVID pandemic has already shaken the state health department.

The health department officials have already started chalking out a blueprint as to how to tackle dengue in the hours of crisis and necessary precautionary measures are being taken.

Various civic bodies in the state have also started anti-dengue drive.

According to health department sources, a team has been constituted under the leadership of the director of health services Dr Ajay Chakraborty which will formulate protocols on how to differentiate between the COVID and dengue suspects as fever is a common symptom of both the diseases. The protocols will also give a detailed guideline about the symptoms on the basis of which the doctors may consider as dengue symptoms. The team will also assess the case management of comorbid issues of the patients who will be affected with both COVID and dengue.

The protocols may also provide guidelines to the doctors on the usage of medicine for the patients suffering from both dengue and COVID. The district health employees may be imparted training through video conference.

At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have created a fear among the people across the state with more number of patients falling victim to the deadly virus on each day, two dengue cases have surfaced in the city. It may be mentioned here that a few days ago an elderly man from Haridevpur, a COVID positive patient later got affected with dengue. The patient eventually died at a COVID hospital in the city. Many other patients were admitted to the hospital with

dengue.

This has become a serious concern for the doctors and the health department who have already been battling the COVID situation.