Woman dies of suspected dengue in Ghaziabad

A 35-year-old woman from Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, died of suspected dengue but officials are awaiting lab reports to confirm it as a dengue fatality.

After a 35-year-old woman from Vasundhara died of suspected dengue late Saturday night, officials of the district health department said on Monday that they are awaiting lab reports to confirm it as a dengue fatality. According to district figures, Ghaziabad has so far recorded 414 dengue positive cases this year with one confirmed death.

The dengue ward of the Ghaziabad District Combined Hospital on Monday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

In the matter of the 35-year-old woman, officials said she was admitted to a hospital 18 hours before she succumbed to her illness.

“It is suspected that the underlying cause was something else and we have sought her test reports from the hospital. Although she tested positive for dengue in the rapid test, the confirmatory test was negative. Her platelet count was also low. We have sought her report to get a clear indication about the case. As of now, we are not counting this as a dengue death,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer.

Apart from 414 dengue cases, the department, till Sunday evening, also recorded 19 malaria and 15 positive cases of scrub typhus.

According to district figures, there were 901 dengue cases in 2022, 1,238 in 2021, 15 in 2020, 88 in 2019 and 68 in 2018 in Ghaziabad.

“Our teams and also those from the municipal corporation are engaged in spraying of insecticides and anti-larvae medicines. Fogging is also being taken up in different areas,” Gupta said.

On August 1, a 21-year-old man succumbed to multi-organ failure resulting from dengue shock syndrome while under treatment at a hospital in Ghaziabad. This was the first dengue death reported this season in Ghaziabad, said health officials.