Three more dengue deaths reported

NEW DELHI: A government panel this week confirmed three dengue deaths in Delhi, over oneand-a-half months after the patients died in various city hospitals.

On October 4, the death of a 23-year-old man was reported at Sir Ganga Ram hospital. The other two deaths were of a 13-year-old boy and a 21-year-old woman at Mata Chanan Devi hospital on October 12 and 17, respectively. All the patients died of complications of dengue, leading to blood infection and circulatory shock.

In total, four dengue deaths have been confirmed by the panel this year. The review panel, comprising officials from the health departments of the Delhi government and civic bodies, check medical records to conclusively establish dengue deaths.

The committee has to confirm dengue deaths for these to be reflected in municipal data because sometimes people who have tested positive die of other simultaneously occurring co-morbid conditions or they have tested positive on a rapid diagnostic test, which can throw up false positives 50% of the time.

In October, HT had reported that the committee had not met even once and several deaths were waiting to be confirmed.

So far, 2,657 dengue cases have been reported in Delhi, according to the weekly report released by the municipal corporations. This is almost half the number of cases -- 4,645 -- reported in the same period last year. Last year, 10 dengue deaths were reported.

“The numbers usually increase during and after monsoon, when the rains provide ample breeding ground. But there was a shortage of rainfall this year and even when it did rain, the showers were heavy and must have washed away the larvae,” said a corporation official, on condition of anonymity.