The administration of the mayor of Diadema José Filippi Júnior (PT) authorized the purchase of kits for dengue tests. The ordinance was published in the Official Gazette this Friday. The acquisition, according to the City Hall, will take place with “no bidding required”. The emergency purchase of rapid tests costs R$30,250.00. From January to March, Diadema registered 1,401 cases of indigenous dengue fever (infections contracted within the city itself) and 51 imported cases. The data are from the Seade Foundation (State Data Analysis System), from the government of São Paulo. Two people have already died in Diademense territory, victims of the disease. One death is still under investigation.
It is noteworthy that the purchase was authorized one day after councilor Márcio Júnior (Podemos) demanded explanations from Health Secretary Zé Antônio regarding the guidance to medical teams not to request tests. “Whether the order comes directly from the secretary or the mayor, I don’t know, but I understand that it does”, he suspects. The complaint was made openly in the City Council gallery during the Thursday session (25). In fact, a request requesting responses from the Office holder was filed.
Regarding the purchase, Márcio Júnior considers it vital for serving the population, but regrets that it only occurs after provocation. “I think the Filippi management’s move is valid, I’m just sorry that it’s not always like this. I had to charge him for him to act,” he declared.
As the parliamentarian points out, doctors are not requesting tests, even if patients have symptoms of the disease caused by Aedes aegypti, and when asked they have the answer on the tip of their tongue. “We are prevented,” they say.
Mayor Filippi’s management even confirmed that tests to detect dengue fever have not been carried out since March 23, the date on which an emergency situation was declared due to an epidemic of the disease, a fact that justified the suspension of testing. “Given its lesser usefulness in epidemic contexts, the criterion for diagnosis becomes clinical epidemiological”, explained the administration in a note in yesterday’s edition.
After announcing the purchase of the kits, Diadema City Hall denied that the situation had occurred after provocation from the parliamentarian. “The purchase of NS1 rapid tests was already scheduled and the process was opened at the beginning of this month”. Also in accordance with the position of Paço Diademense, 5,000 tests will be purchased “to assist in actions to combat dengue and for use in Urgency and Emergency units”.
