A 54-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh who had tested positive for chikungunya and was suffering from a host of other diseases died in AIIMS due to multi-organ failure, the hospital confirmed Thursday.
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In a report released today on vector-borne disease cases at AIIMS, the premier institute said, “Nine dengue patients have died from September 1 till date”.
As chikungunya and dengue continued to wreak havoc in Delhi with the death toll from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 32, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has slammed India’s government-owned disease surveillance system saying that it is important that the fever related data is well-represented. He said directions have been issued to conduct blood and other diagnostic tests at the earliest on the patients showing signs of malaria, dengue or chikungunya.
Ganga Ram Hospital has so far reported five deaths due to chikungunya. One person died in Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.
As the number of deaths in Delhi due to chikungunya and its complications have shown a spike, health experts say the sudden “upsurge” of the disease this year could be a result of “evolution” of the viral strain.
The woman was admitted to the Shalimar Bagh Fortis Hospital with sepsis and cardiac problem, hospital sources said.
According to the Bangalore-based doctor, “The prevalenceof arbovirus infections similar to chikungunya virus in southIndia especially in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu havemade people tolerant to these infections.”The number of chikungunya cases in the national capitalhave climbed to over 1,700 this season and at least 12 deathshave been reported due to the disease”. Authorities said most of the victims were aged 80 or above while seven of the 12 victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh, including two from Ghaziabad, and five from Delhi.
Delhi is showing the spurt in chikungunya after almost 10 years and health experts are conjecturing that this “upsurge” could be due to “evolution” in the chikungunya viral strain.
According to the civic bodies, the highest dengue cases were reported in 2015 with a total of 15,876 people infected by the vector-borne disease with 60 deaths.
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The letter to the Centre pointed out that many patients are coming to Delhi for treatment due to lack of proper healthcare facilities in their respective states. Delhi government hospitals have already been directed not to refuse admission to any patient.
