Monsoon ailments are on the rise, 3 die of dengue

A 54-year-old Mira Road resident died of dengue at a private hospital in Girgaum last week. Doctors treating him said that he had tested positive for dengue a day prior.

A 54-year-old Mira Road resident died of dengue at a private hospital in Girgaum last week. Doctors treating him said that he had tested positive for dengue a day prior.

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“His platelet count had dropped and he was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital. He also had a history of liver disease,” said Dr Krishnakant Dhebri, who treated the patient.

Dengue is an infectious fever caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. Patients complain of high fever, vomiting and severe body ache.

Two other patients died of dengue in the city in the past two weeks. A 40-year-old man from Andheri (East) died of dengue at Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri, while another 45-year-old woman from Jogeshwari (East) died in a private nursing home.

“Both these patients came in with fever, headache and low blood platelet count,” said Dr Alan Soares, general physician, Holy Spirit Hospital, that currently has ten patients suffering from malaria and dengue admitted in the ICU.

However, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) did not confirm the three dengue deaths. According to the civic body, only three cases of dengue were reported in the city in June. In July, the number jumped to 62.

Despite a week monsoon, doctors are seeing an increasing rise in the number of viral fever cases in the city. In June, 3989 fever cases were reported in Mumbai, the number rose to 6800 in July. “Patients suffering from fever are also complaining of upper respiratory infections,” added Dr Soares.

Dr Mangala Gomare, deputy executive health officer, BMC, said that in comparison to last year, monsoon related ailments have dropped this year.

“There is a rise in patients with dengue, malaria and fever. This year, more patients are requiring hospitalisation as they are coming with nausea and dehydration,” said Dr Pratit Samdani, physician, Jaslok Hospital.

“A majority of patients are children, who have fever that takes more than 10-15 days to get treated,” said Dr SR Shenoy who runs a private clinic in Goregoan.