Telangana faces underreporting of viral fevers amid lack of rapid testing

Every year, whenever there is a surge in cases of seasonal ailments, the State Health Department in Telangana issues routine advisories, urging people to stay alert and seek medical help. However, there is quite a disconnect between the routine advisories and ground realities.

On the diagnostics front, almost all the primary health centres, Basthi Dawakhanas and District Hospitals lack rapid molecular testing capacity for comprehensive respiratory testing that can quickly inform doctors about a viral infection.

Most of the treatment depends on guesswork, fuelling anger among patients, who are forced to rush to private healthcare facilities in the hope of receiving better care and a better understanding of their ailment.

At the same time, government hospitals are also not able to strengthen prevention by offering free annual flu shots for



vulnerable groups like pregnant women, children, senior citizens and individuals with co-morbid conditions.

While annual flu vaccines remain financially out of reach for the average household, a severe lack of rapid diagnostic tools handicaps government doctors’ ability to respond quickly to seasonal respiratory pathogens.

Unlike childhood immunisations under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) or state-backed subsidised adult vaccine rollouts, Telangana State does not offer annual influenza vaccines for vulnerable demographics.

An annual influenza vaccine could go a long way in saving lives, especially among vulnerable groups, and also reduce the number of viral fever cases. However, the cost of preventive flu vaccines ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000, effectively making them affordable only for affluent families.