Dengue patient count reaches 650 in dist

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 22

Dengue is slowly taking the district in its grip with 650 cases testing positive for the epidemic till now and reports of several others are still awaited.

This is the data available with the Health Department and as per reports, a large number of cases are yet to be officially reported. City hospitals are receiving five to 10 cases on a daily basis, making it difficult for them to manage such a 

big number.

Doctors across the city said cases of dengue were rampant among viral fever cases and the condition was so grim that most of them were either being treated at outdoor patient departments (OPDs) or are being referred to some other hospitals, considering that the hospitals are full to their capacity.

Patients complaining of high grade fever, vomiting, nausea, headache, joint pain and severe body aches are flooding government dispensaries, clinics and hospitals and the Health Department is now in a panic mode considering that the disease was under control till the beginning of October and the sudden rise in the cases have brought officials on their toes.

The department has even held a meeting with municipal corporation officials, urging them to hold intensive fogging twice a day across the city and nearby areas. The authorities fear that the number of cases may rise further, as the season for vector-borne diseases begins from mid-July and generally lasts till November-end.

One of the health officials said the department was pretty confident that the cases would be less this time, considering that they had started awareness and challans in this regard in most of the areas in advance but there had been a lot of mosquito breeding in various parts of the city, including Dyal Nagar, Ram Nagar, Ablowal, Ranjit Nagar and other areas on Bhadson and Rajpura roads. Surprisingly, many cases were arriving from posh areas too which had become a cause of concern.   

Second death in week

Nabha: A 50-year-old woman, Pal Kaur, a resident of Bouran Gate, Nabha, died of dengue at the Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, taking the total number of deaths to two in the past one week.

• Deceased’s son Krishan Pal said his mother was suffering from fever for the past four days and was admitted to a private hospital.
• He said as she was not improving, they shifted her to the Rajindra Hospital after her platelet count had gone down to 35,000 from 1,25,000. He said his mother died in the wee hours of October 20.
• Earlier, a 52-year-old woman, identified as Lalita Rani of Ranjit Nagar, had died of dengue at the PGI, Chandigarh. TNS

All cases not reported

As per reports, a large number of cases are yet to be officially reported. Doctors across the city said cases of dengue were rampant among viral fever cases and the condition was so grim that most of them were either being treated at outdoor patient departments or are being referred to other hospitals, considering that the hospitals are full to their capacity.