Top AIIMS official down with dengue

The deputy director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) who is also the head of sanitation services at the country’s biggest government hospital is down with dengue.

The deputy director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) who is also the head of sanitation services at the country’s biggest government hospital is down with dengue.

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Vineet Chawdhary, with a platelet count of less than 40,000, is undergoing treatment for the mosquito-borne infection. He was brought to the hospital late on Sunday night.

“He is stable and is being closely monitored. His vital parameters are fine,” said a doctor, requesting anonymity.

HT had earlier reported that at least 10 per cent staff of the premier hospital have fallen prey to the disease. However, the AIIMS administration had refuted the story. Even the New Delhi Municipal Council had challaned the hospital earlier this month after they found mosquitoes breeding at various sites on the hospital campus.

The doctors had complained that fumigation was not being carried out in the hospital, which sees a patient footfall of over 10,000 daily. Anti-mosquito measures also become imperative in the wake of hectic construction activity going on within the hospital premises.

Meanwhile, Delhi reported 33 new dengue infections on Monday, taking the total number of cases to 685, out of which seven cases are from outside Delhi. Two people have died of the disease, as per municipal statistics.

The ground situation, however, remains grave as cases reported by big private hospitals are much higher than what the civic agency is reporting. Civic officials have been claiming that since most private hospitals don’t perform the mandatory IgM Capture Elisa test, these cases cannot be considered as positive.