Mumbai’s first dengue death this monsoon: Man goes missing from hospital, found dead

Staff at Nair Hospital did not notice him leave his bed because the ward was overcrowded.

A 60-year-old Dharavi resident, who was found unconscious near a defunct canteen of B Y L Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central, on Tuesday morning, is the first dengue casualty this year in Mumbai.

Esha Abdul Gafar Shaikh was brought to the hospital on July 22 and was reported missing from his ward and found an hour and a half later.

Esha Abdul Gafar Shaikh, who was brought to the hospital on July 22, was reported missing from his ward and was found an hour and a half later. According to the hospital, Shaikh, who had discarded his hospital dress to change into regular clothes, could have been trying to leave the hospital when he was left unattended. Doctors said that he died of bilateral intra pulmonary haemorrhage – bleeding in the lungs – caused by the dengue infection. The condition is rare but has been noticed in patients in past. Experts said that only 1%-3% of dengue patients need admission out of which only 1% need intensive care.

“Within this small group only 1%-3% of patients may develop the intra pulmonary bleed, which may cause their death,” said Dr Om Srivastava, infectious diseases expert.

The staff at BYL Nair Hospital did not see him leaving because the overcrowded ward was housing over 70 patients in a hall meant for 40. Shaikh’s son, who was attending to him, had stepped out to get medicines.

“Around 12 noon on July 23, nurses of the ward realised that he wasn’t on his bed and raised an alarm. We searched for him across the hospital and when we couldn’t find him we reported him absconded,” said Dr Ramesh Bharmal, the hospital dean.

Dr Bharmal added that Shaikh was found at 1.30pm by a security guard and was taken to the casualty department.

While doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, they also identified that he was the same patient who had absconded from ward 22. By that time the doctors received his blood reports, which ascertained that he was suffering from dengue.

Agripada police station registered an accidental death report in the matter.