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‘Mystery’ fever in Panchkula: Dengue not likely cause behind deaths, says PGIMER team
Ambiguous data regarding deaths, no samples of deceased posing as hurdles for PGIMER team that is now collecting clues verbally by meeting families
The mysterious deaths over the past month in Panchkula don’t seem attributable to dengue, as per the team of experts from PGIMER, Chandigarh, who on Saturday started a field visit to meet the families of the deceased.
But they are still far from concluding the exact cause behind the deaths and the sudden spike in fever cases in the district. Some roadblocks being faced by the PGIMER team are unavailability of data regarding deaths and samples of the deceased.
“The civil hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, does not have the exact count of deaths due to high fever. Deaths have occurred at home, private hospitals, government facilities, PGIMER and even Mohali. So, the data is incomplete. Until we get the complete information, which may take 10 to 15 days, we won’t be able to reach anywhere conclusive. Also, the doctors have not taken samples of the deceased,” a doctor, part of the PGIMER team, said.
Dr Mankirat, spokesperson for the chief medical officer’s (CMO) office, said they had requested the private hospitals to share data, but they were reluctant.
“As far as government facilities are concerned, we are fully supporting the PGIMER team and providing them every data,” said Dr Rajeev Kapoor, principal medical officer, civil hospital, Sector 6.
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As per the district health department, at least 15 people have died over the past one month after suffering from high-grade fever, whose uncertain cause has left doctors baffled.
Over 500 patients with high fever and body aches are arriving at civil hospital’s OPD daily, and nearly 90 are being admitted, with discharges not taking place before a day or two.
Amid the surge in fever cases and subsequent mysterious deaths, CMO Mukta Kumar had requested the community health department of PGIMER to visit the affected areas to ascertain the cause.
On Saturday, the team of PGIMER doctors, including epidemiologists, visited the families of three deceased in Kalka. “As no samples have been collected from the deceased, the preliminary step is to do a verbal post-mortem analysis. The team is approaching the family members with a detailed questionnaire regarding what exactly happened,” said Dr Arun Aggarwal, head, department of community medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER.
“So far, dengue does not seem to behind the deaths. We are working on gathering as many clues as possible. Over the next two days, samples of similar cases at hospitals will be taken for assessment,” he said.
The PGIMER team will also suggest the CMO to conduct a house-to-house survey for collection of samples from people suffering from high fever and send them for testing to PGIMER and National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control, Delhi.
Residents have also been advised not to take high fever lightly and approach a health centre promptly. Also, since dengue cases are on the rise, people are advised to cover their bodies well and don’t let water stagnate. As many as 402 dengue cases have been confirmed so far this year and the number of confirmed deaths due to the disease is one.
