The Delhi government refuses to declare the dengue outbreak in the city as an ‘epidemic’.
And even as the Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss assures that there is no ‘cause for panic’, reports pour in of the Capital reporting 352 cases to date. Ironically, adding to the statistics of dengue cases in the city are Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's two grandsons, who have been admitted to AIIMS with suspected dengue.
Rohan, 11 and Madhav, 17 were admitted to the hospital this afternoon with high fever and other symptoms of dengue, a senior AIIMS doctor said. However, they will undergo a series of tests before they are diagnosed as “confirmed case of dengue”. Sons of Singh’s second daughter, Daman, the two are undergoing various tests including packed cell volume and platelet counts, the doctor said.
Daman's husband Ashok Patnaik is an IPS officer. Meanwhile, NDMC undertook the fogging exercise in and around the Prime Minister's official residence at 7, Race Course Road to prevent breeding of any kind of mosquitos.
Nearly 600 dengue cases have been reported in the country, of which a majority are from the national capital, Ramdoss said on Wednesday. Thirty deaths have been reported in the country. With one more person succumbing to the fever on Wednesday at AIIMS, where 29 fresh cases were admitted.
The total number of deaths in the national capital has gone up to 14, AIIMS spokesperson Shakti Gupta said. He said 72 people are undergoing treatment for dengue at the hospital and 29 fresh cases were reported since yesterday. Among the fresh cases, three are from the AIIMS campus. Three others have been discharged after treatment, he added.