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One of two suspected dengue deaths had influenza and dengue fever: PCMC officials
The samples of the other deceased are sent to a lab to confirm dengue fever infection, said officials
Officials from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) confirmed on Sunday that one of the two suspected dengue deaths reported last week in Jadhavwadi was caused by a mixed infection of influenza virus and dengue fever. The samples of the other deceased are sent to a lab to confirm dengue fever infection, said officials.
As per the officials, on September 19 a five-year-old girl died at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) following dengue-like symptoms and another ten-year-old girl died at Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) with dengue fever symptoms. Both the children are residents of Jadhavwadi. The ten-year-old child undergoing treatment at SGH had a mixed infection of H1N1 influenza and had tested positive for dengue fever during NS1 antigen test. However, reports of the 5-year-old girl are awaited due to which we consider it as suspected case of dengue, said the officials.
Shekhar Singh, PCMC commissioner said, “The reason behind the death of the five-year-old girl is yet to be ascertained. We are likely to get the report by Monday.”
The PCMC, since August, has started to report a spike in vector borne diseases. This year, the civic body has reported 6,479 suspected and 135 dengue cases. Till now, the health department has conducted surveys of over three lakh residential and commercial establishments and a fine of ₹10 lakh has been collected.
Adv Sagar Charan, member of District Monitoring Committee has written to the PCMC chief demanding action against the responsible authorities who failed to implement containment activities to combat the vector borne disease cases. “It cannot be denied that such a lax situation has created an atmosphere of fear in Pimpri-Chinchwad. An inquiry against the head of department must be done and appropriate action should be taken. The family must also be compensated.”
Singh further said that the container survey is ongoing in the entire area and an audit will be conducted. “We are increasing awareness activities and surveillance. We have called for a meeting with the doctor’s association to discuss the further course of action to combat the vector-borne diseases.”
