The Chennai Corporation confirmed on Monday that the nine-year-old schoolboy who died, and about whom actor Kamal Hassan had tweeted, was dengue positive. The State health authorities too confirmed that he died due to dengue. However, an investigation into his death is ongoing.
A senior civic body official said the child had developed fever 17 days ago. He was treated at three hospitals and was found to be dengue positive. The Corporation had already initiated measures for mosquito control and source reduction, he said, adding that weekly anti-larval initiatives were being conducted in the Thousand Lights area, where the boy resided. The official also highlighted the necessity and importance of community involvement in allowing health workers access to homes to eradicate mosquito breeding sources.
“We are also now sending medical officers to all major hospitals to ensure protocol is followed in treatment,” he said. Fogging had been carried out in the street the child lived in, and a medical camp had been held, he said.
In his tweet, Mr. Haasan had claimed that his pleas on dengue had fallen on deaf ears. He said that a student named Bharghav of DAV School in Gopalapuram had died of dengue, and urged the AIADMK government to step down. Even as Mr. Haasan claimed that the “government was in slumber” in his tweet late in the night, the Corporation officials, when contacted, said they will not be able to track such cases at night.
131 cases in city this year
The city had seen over 131 cases of dengue this year, with the State’s total close to 7,000.
Following yet another report on social media about another dengue death of an eight-year-old boy in Kilpauk on Monday evening, the Corporation officials reiterated they were yet to get confirmation on it. “Officials have not confirmed that the death was due to dengue,” said an official on Monday.
However, the officials admitted that fever cases have increased. “We are sending teams to dengue hotspots including Adyar, Vysarpadi, Ekkatuthangal and KK Nagar. They will conduct door-to-door verification,” said an official.
Residents said that work on source reduction in construction sites has been poor in most areas. Even as a number of school children have been affected by dengue, the civic body is yet to intensify work on the premises of schools to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. The civic body officials also claimed that they are yet to have information on the change reported on the strain of virus causing dengue in the city.
