Heatwave-related deaths under-reported in Telangana
It may sound unusual, but it's true! Despite facing what might be the most severe heatwave conditions that telangana has seen in recent years, the health department has confirmed no heatwave-related deaths this year. Have heatwave deaths mysteriously disappeared, or are they merely being underreported owing to reporting system issues?
Temperatures in hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, and the other districts have constantly stayed between 40 and 46 degrees Celsius for the previous three months, except for periodic thunderstorms. However, despite months of terrible weather, no one has perished as a result of a heat wave in telangana, according to state public health data.
A substantial proportion of patients who may have had symptoms as a result of a heat wave during the summer prefer private healthcare facilities such as a nursing home, clinic, or private hospital. Currently, there is no system for sharing data on heat wave cases between private healthcare facilities and the public health department. The ongoing problem of no data sharing might be a key contributor to under-reporting.
A substantial proportion of patients who may have had symptoms as a result of a heat wave during the summer prefer private healthcare facilities such as a nursing home, clinic, or private hospital. Currently, there is no system for sharing data on heat wave cases between private healthcare facilities and the public health department. The ongoing problem of no data sharing might be a key contributor to under-reporting.
Two more key elements influence how heat wave instances are reported. The first is the possibility of compensating relatives of heat wave victims, and the second is the inherently complex process of confirming a heat wave death, particularly among people with co-morbidities, according to senior public health officials and seasonal diseases experts.
"Elderly people with a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, or renal failure are more likely to be victims of heat waves, even if they stay inside. Similarly, newborns and the ill find it difficult to regulate their internal temperature. Senior government physicians here stated that such deaths are not classified as heat strokes and are not registered or tallied as heat deaths.
"Elderly people with a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, or renal failure are more likely to be victims of heat waves, even if they stay inside. Similarly, newborns and the ill find it difficult to regulate their internal temperature. Senior government physicians here stated that such deaths are not classified as heat strokes and are not registered or tallied as heat deaths.
Seasonal illness specialists in hyderabad stated that it is highly difficult for the government to classify an individual's mortality as a result of a heat wave.
"I feel that in metropolitan areas, there was a lot of knowledge about the heat wave, and people avoided going out. However, this was not the case in districts where similar incidents went unreported," claimed a top public health officer in Hyderabad.
"I feel that in metropolitan areas, there was a lot of knowledge about the heat wave, and people avoided going out. However, this was not the case in districts where similar incidents went unreported," claimed a top public health officer in Hyderabad.
What is a heat wave death?
• Heat-related death: A death that was caused or significantly contributed to by exposure to a high ambient temperature.
• When the body temperature at the moment of collapse was more than 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 degrees Celsius), the cause of death should be heat stroke or hyperthermia.
• A significant majority of these deaths occur in patients with a preexisting illness.
• Such fatalities can be classified as heat-related, with illness being a substantial contributing factor, or vice versa.
• When the body temperature at the moment of collapse was more than 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 degrees Celsius), the cause of death should be heat stroke or hyperthermia.
• A significant majority of these deaths occur in patients with a preexisting illness.
• Such fatalities can be classified as heat-related, with illness being a substantial contributing factor, or vice versa.