Please call us if you pay over Rs 600 for dengue test: FDA

It took nearly three months of waiting before the government finally put a cap on the cost of dengue tests at Rs 600, but the common man might have to wait even longer to see this Government Resolution (GR) come into force at labs across the city. The reason? The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), which is responsible for enforcing the order, has just 20 officials to ensure that labs do not overcharge.

The Union government had issued an advisory on July 5, asking the state to regulate the fee for the NS1 dengue antigen test. But it was only on September 29, that the state health department passed the GR capping the charge at Rs 600.

FDA spread thin
"There are only 20 inspecting officers, while the sanctioned manpower is 68 officers. We request people to contact us if they find labs overcharging patients," said BR Masal, joint commissioner of the public health watchdog.

The limited manpower is already spread thin with inspections across blood banks, hotels, food courts, medical shops and pharma companies.

"Now, the government expects us to keep a tab on the thousands of labs," said a senior officer from FDA. Soon, the agency will inspect 800-1,000 labs. "But the challenge is to check on the 5,000 illegal labs functioning in the city," said the officer.

‘Set up a helpline'
So far, FDA hasn't received any complaints about being overcharged, but activists state that there should be a helpline number.

"When a loved one is admitted to a hospital, their main concern is to see them get better. They won't rush to FDA. So, there is a need to start a helpline number for people to directly call them in need. This will also help FDA to catch laboratories that violate the order," said Ravikanth Singh, an activist working for health development of underprivileged people.