Delhi govt caps chikungunya test cost

New Delhi, Aug 30 (PTI) After a cap on cost of dengue testlast month, Delhi government today announced a similar ceilingfor chikungunya, even as the city continues to grapple withrising cases of the two vector-borne diseases. The government in a statement said, it has decided to capthe price for "chikungunya serology IgM at Rs 600 and for RTPCR for chikungunya at Rs 1,500". It also warned private hospitals and laboratories andnursing homes against overcharging. With spurt in dengue cases, Delhi government last monthcapped at Rs 600 the cost of test to diagnose the vector-bornedisease and Rs 50 for ascertaining the platelet count inprivate hospitals in the national capital. "This is continuation of the previous office order…wherein ceiling price has been fixed in all private sector atRs 600 for each NS1-Ag (ELISA based) and MAC ELISA test forantibodies and Rs 50 for platelets," the statement said. Last year also, the AAP government had capped the denguetest charges following complaints that many private hospitalsand laboratories were overcharging, sensing an opportunity tomake profit. Chikungunya cases in Delhi have shot up to 432 a massiverise in the figure released by civic authorities, who hadreported just 20 cases till last week. According to a municipal report released yesterday, 432cases had been diagnosed in the national capital till August27. Safdarjung Hospital had reported nearly 250 cases tillAugust 29. Meanwhile, 487 cases of dengue have so far been reportedin the national capital this season, with 368 of them beingrecorded in August. Till August 20, 311 cases of the vector-borne disease werereported while 176 cases came to light in last week alone,marking a rise of nearly 57 per cent. An 18-year-old boy died Sunday of dengue at ApolloHospital in south Delhi, taking to five the number offatalities due to the vector-borne disease. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, "We have 10,000beds and the number of fever clinics has been increased from55 last year to 355. People should not panic." PTI KNDZMN