Dengue toll: UP CM Yogi Adityanath cracks whip on Firozabad quacks

AGRA: In a crackdown on quacks in dengue-hit Firozabad, health officials have registered an FIR against eight quacks and also sent notices to 200 unregistered clinics.
The move came soon after UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath held a review meeting with the health department and ordered action against quacks and unregistered practitioners who are now being blamed for rising deaths following high fever in Firozabad.
An internal investigation of the health department has found that quacks are also to be blamed for the high number of fatalities in the district. Additional director of the health department, A K Singh, told TOI that during investigation they found that in many cases, initial treatment to fever patients had been provided by quacks or clinics that were not registered with the health department.
“Many patients suffering from fever were administered steroids. This provided temporary relief to those suffering dengue-like symptoms, but multiplied the rate at which their platelets reduced. Blood vomiting was common in such cases. In a review meeting on Saturday, the CM ordered action against quacks following which we have started cracking down on all such practitioners,” said Singh.
On Saturday, an FIR was registered against eight quacks under section 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 15 of the Medical Council Act, said Firozabad (south) police station in charge Anoop Kumar Tiwari.
All eight were running private unregistered clinics which have been sealed, said Tiwari.
Health department has also banned the use of steroids that were found causing critical illness among patients suffering from dengue symptoms. These include dexamethasone, prednisolone, betamethasone and methylprednisolone.