11-year-old boy dies in Gurugram after contracting dengue

GURUGRAM: An 11-yearold boy from Gurugram who had contracted dengue and was referred to Safdarjung hospital for treatment died after complications. Identified as Abdul, the deceased was first admitted in Gurugram civil hospital but was later shifted to Safdarjung hospital on October 24. Even after 10 days of getting treatment, the doctors could not save the patient as his condition kept deteriorating with each passing day.

The incident has once again highlighted the dangers of the vector-borne disease that does not seem to subside even after change of season. While the data from the district health department says that there have been 70 confirmed cases of dengue, management in the private hospitals affirms that the cases seem to be on a higher side. The city has already witnessed over 500 suspected dengue cases so far.

As the number of patients is not decreasing, a new ward has been set up at the civil hospital for the treatment. Special teams have also been created by the district administration to create awareness among the people to protect themselves. Large scale construction activities happening in Gurugram is proving to be a challenge in tackling vector borne diseases like dengue and malaria. With most of these sites having poor drainage facilities, water can still be found stranded in these places thus making it ripe for the larvae to grow.

Besides construction activities carried out by private builders, there are also large scale developmental activities of revamping city's infrastructure across various parts. In most of the sites, the stages of construction are at the beginning stretch which has resulted in large pits being dug where the water gets stored.