Centre seeks report on dengue, chikungunya from Delhi

Two diseases have claimed at least 30 lives and affected nearly 3,000 people

India’s central government yesterday sought a detailed report from the Delhi government on deaths due to dengue and chikungunya, including medical histories of the deceased, in the national capital where vector-borne diseases have claimed at least 30 lives and affected nearly 3,000 people.

Earlier in the day, Health Minister J.P. Nadda also met Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain to discuss the situation and assured all support to the city government even as he said no patient was being turned away without treatment and there was no shortage of doctors and drugs.

Support for Haryana, UP

The Union Minister also assured support to the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments for tackling the vector-borne diseases.

“We have asked for a detailed report on the deaths taking place due to the vector-borne diseases in the city. Also, we have sought medical history of the deceased patients, whether they had any co-morbid conditions,” Nadda said on the sidelines of a symposium held here on liver transplantation.

Chikungunya and dengue have wreaked havoc in Delhi with the death toll from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 30 even as the number of affected people has crossed 2,800.

“Many of the patients diagnosed in Delhi are coming from National Capital Region (NCR) and so fever clinics could also be set up there. We are resolving this matter with Haryana and other governments in the NCR.

“I have spoken to Haryana government (and UP) on this and our officers are working on it and in touch with them,” he said. For the seventh consecutive day, heavy rains lashed Hyderabad, with the downpour bringing the city to a grinding halt once again.

Apart from traffic jams and impact on road connectivity, people in the two Telugu states are also grappling with seasonal diseases including Chikungunya, Dengue fever and brain fever or Japanese encephalitis.

Two children from the same family — Mohammad Idrees and Mohammad Junaid — died on Friday in Ananthapur town of Andhra Pradesh due to dengue fever, officials said. State minister Palle Raghunath Reddy visited their home in Vinayak Nagar area and expressed his condolences. Having lost two sons, the family was in deep shock. The minster also held a review meeting with officials and ordered launch of sanitation and fumigation drive in the area.

In Hyderabd a promising cricketer also died due to Dengue fever. Sainath, who played for the Under 19 team of Hyderabad cricket association, was suffering from Dengue for the last three days and died yesterday.