23-year-old is first doctor from city to succumb to dengue this year

A KEM Hospital resident doctor, who was being treated for dengue at a private hospital in Mahim, succumbed to the infection on Sunday evening, making her the city’s seventh dengue victim this year.

A KEM Hospital resident doctor, who was being treated for dengue at a private hospital in Mahim, succumbed to the infection on Sunday evening, making her the city’s seventh dengue victim this year.

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Shruti Khobraghade, 23, is the first doctor from the city to die of dengue this year. Khobraghade was a third-year resident doctor in the anaesthesiology department and lived on the BMC-run hospital’s campus.

Khobraghade is survived by her parents and siblings who live in Pune. Her last rites were performed on Monday morning in Mumbai.

Dean of KEM Hospital, Dr S Parkar, said Khobraghade’s condition suddenly deteriorated with a drastic drop in her cell count and platelets. “Doctors could have discharged her, but her condition suddenly worsened and we shifted her to the ICU,” said Parkar.

Following her death, the insecticide department found two Aedes mosquito-breeding sites inside the hostel, where Khobraghade lived.

HT had earlier this month reported about four resident doctors from KEM and Sion Hospitals suffering from dengue.

KEM Hospital, which treats around 2,000 indoor patients at any given time, seems to have become a hotbed for dengue-breeding mosquitoes. Students claim that at least three to four of them on each floor were treated for dengue. “Both me and my roommate had dengue last month.

Two others on my floor also had dengue,” said an MBBS student from the hospital.
According to KEM’s student body, at least six confirmed cases of dengue were recorded among doctors, while 50 suspected cases were reported among other hospital staff and doctors.