Dengue patient forced to deliver before time

An eight-month-pregnant woman, infected with dengue, delivered a premature baby through caesarean-section at Gurgaon’s Artemis Hospital recently.

An eight-month-pregnant woman, infected with dengue, delivered a premature baby through caesarean-section at Gurgaon’s Artemis Hospital recently.

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While the mother was discharged on Thursday, the underweight baby-girl — she weighed 1.5 kg against the healthy weight of at least 2.5 kg — does not have dengue and is likely to leave for home on Friday.

“The mother’s platelet count had fallen to 20,000. The placenta had broken and there was excessive bleeding. We did an emergency caesarean section to save the baby,” said Dr Geeta Baruah Nath, senior consultant (Gynaecology), Artemis.

The mother lives in Laxman Vihar. “She was detected with dengue on October 9 and was shifted to Artemis hospital after two other private hospitals failed to treat her,” said Asha’s husband Sanjay.

Last week, a 30-year-old woman from the city’s Jacobpura locality was forced to abort her eight-week-old foetus at Alchemist Hospital after testing positive for dengue.

The risk of developing complications among pregnant women increases manifold if she contracts dengue. The rapidly falling platelet count could lead to the woman bleeding into the uterus, which could be fatal.

Thirty-four-year-old Geeta Ojha, a resident of Paschim Vihar, also panicked when her platelet count dropped to 80,000. Ojha, who was four weeks pregnant, was also running high fever. She was diagnosed with dengue. Fortunately for her, the platelet count did not drop further so she did not require a transfusion.

33 new cases in Delhi
The number of dengue patients in Gurgaon crossed the 200 mark, with one death. Private hospitals claim the number is more than 850, with five deaths. Delhi reported 33 new dengue cases on Thursday, taking the total to 551.