The Times of India            12.09.2013

Now, SMS alerts on dengue tests

KOLKATA: The KMC has announced a system to send dengue test alerts on patients' mobile phones if the terst had been conducted at clinics run by corporation.

Currently, there are five such clinics being run by the KMC's health department. These centres are located in Hatibagan, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Chetla, Behala (Parnasree) and Bijoygarh (Tollygunge).

From Thursday, patients coming to these centres with fever will get an SMS alert within four hours of giving blood samples for a dengue test. The SMS will convey the preliminary test report, confirming whether the case is dengue-positive or -negative.

Now, a patient has to wait a whole day to get the blood test in the form of a report.

Atin Ghosh, the MMiC (health) who inaugurated the system at the KMC clinic at Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, said an order had been issued to the health officials to start treatment at the earliest, based on the preliminary report. As a test case, the MMiC got a positive dengue report from the blood test of a patient who examined her blood on Wednesday morning.

The KMC health officials came to know that the patient had come from the neighbourhood. Accordingly, a rapid action force comprising trained health workers was sent to the area where the health workers surveyed every household and undertook preventive measures.

KMC chief health officer T K Mukherjee said the system was developed by the civic body itself.