CMO Warns Private Labs on Dengue ELISA Overcharging

Private pathology labs across Varanasi are charging far above the district health ceiling for dengue ELISA testing — in some pockets up to ₹2,100 — while government hospitals continue to offer the same class of test free of cost, Chief Medical Officer Dr N.P. Singh has warned.

A Friday survey whose findings circulated on Saturday mapped rates at private centres in Kabirchaura at ₹1,200–1,500 and at Chirai Gaon at ₹2,100, with similar high billing reported from Rohania, Ramnagar, Chaubepur, Mirzamurad and Rajatalab. Online booking platforms were listing dengue-related packages in the ₹4,000–6,300 band, according to the same survey compilation shared with the health desk.

Dr Singh set out the maximums the district expects private labs to respect: NS1 ELISA between ₹600 and ₹1,200; IgM/IgG in the same ₹600–1,200 band; and a complete blood count at ₹150–250. Labs that bill above those caps risk losing their licence, the CMO said in the briefing tied to the survey.

State health communicator Dr O.P. Singh, speaking in the NEMA context, underlined why the ELISA route matters: rapid kits are convenient, but ELISA remains the more reliable laboratory method for confirming dengue when clinicians need accuracy rather than a quick screen. That distinction is exactly what private centres are monetising when they push high-priced ELISA panels, the rate map suggests.

The clinical backdrop in Varanasi this year is quieter than last monsoon’s scare. District figures for 2026 counted 15 dengue cases from January through 21 August, against 229 cases in the comparable 2025 period. Lower caseload has not stopped private price spikes — if anything, families chasing a single confirmatory test still walk into Kabirchaura or Chirai Gaon counters and meet bills that sit well clear of the CMO’s published band.

Named patient experiences in the survey file included Dhiraj Kumar of Cholapur and Sonali of Kashipura, both cited as examples of private-lab billing for dengue work-ups. Their cases sit alongside the area-wise rate list rather than as isolated complaints: the pattern is geographic and commercial, not a one-lab outlier.

Government hospitals and designated public labs remain the free route. The CMO’s message is blunt enough for a monsoon Saturday — use the public system when you need ELISA, and treat private invoices above ₹1,200 for NS1 or antibody ELISA as a compliance problem, not a routine market price. Licence action is the stick named in the same briefing.

Clinicians still advise patients not to wait on a private invoice when fever, body ache and warning signs point toward dengue work-up. The free government path exists precisely so a monsoon household in Rohania or Rajatalab does not have to choose between a ₹2,100 bill and delayed confirmation. The CMO’s licence warning is aimed at the labs; the practical advice for families is to walk into the public counter first.

For a city that remembers last year’s 229-case load, the 15-case tally through late August is relief. It is not a reason to ignore a ₹2,100 Chirai Gaon slip or a ₹6,300 online package when the district has already written the lawful ceiling on paper. Dr N.P. Singh’s warning puts that ceiling back in the public square while the private counters are still open for walk-ins.