Dengue outbreak in the city has claimed 12 lives so far, five of the deaths occurring in the last fortnight.
Three-year-old Mansvi Devrukhkar, who succumbed to the mosquito-borne viral infection at a city hospital on Thursday, is the latest victim. On Friday, four-month-old Saniya Sheikh’s post-mortem report reportedly said she tested positive for dengue. She was admitted to the city’s KEM hospital, and authorities there claimed she died on November 5 of myocarditis.
According to unconfirmed reports, baby Saniya’s is the most recent suspected dengue death in the city. But the civic administration has refused to confirm it.
“I have been told by the KEM authorities that there has been no dengue-related death there,” said Dr. Mangala Gomare, Deputy Executive Health Officer in the Epidemiology department of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.
Dr. Shubhangi Parkar, Dean of KEM hospital, did not answer phone calls on Friday.
Cases on the riseSo far, there have been 659 confirmed cases and 2900 suspected cases in the city this year. Dengue cases in Maharashtra too have been on the rise. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has sought information from across the State to ensure effective preventive measures.
Awareness campaignsThe civic administration of Mumbai has been working on a war-footing to control the menace. While the Municipal Corporation is mulling over roping in celebrities for its awareness campaign, it has already started airing awareness videos at cinemas and on radio channels. Various housing societies have joined hands with the administration for vector control activities.
“We want to spread awareness. People need to realise that they should not allow their houses and neighbourhoods to become breeding grounds (of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes),” Shiv Sena corporator Trushna Vishwasrao said.
A survey by the civic administration has found that more than 50 per cent of the dengue cases have been reported from high-rises and in posh areas. “Of them, in more than 85 per cent of the cases the breeding ground was within the house or in the neighbour’s house. This has become a challenge,” said Dr. Gomare.
A few days ago, actor Rishi Kapoor was admitted to a private hospital with dengue. “We had inspected his house even before he was diagnosed with the disease. There was a breeding ground in his house. Corrective action was taken by the family soon after we pointed this out to them,” a civic official said.
Probe and measuresThe civic administration is in the process of verifying the reasons behind the death of three patients, including toddler Manasvi. Dengue cases increased manifold in October, civic officials said. Delayed winter was an important factor.
“The climatic conditions, coupled with a faster mosquito growth rate and higher transmission rate, have resulted in an increase in the number of cases,” Dr. Gomare said.
Major private hospitals reported 962 suspected dengue cases in October alone. “This month, we have 204 confirmed cases so far,” she said.
The civic administration has carried out vector control activities in lakhs of homes. Every month, the corporation staff visits nine lakh houses and fumigates them.
Casualty in hospitalThe administration has claimed it is well-equipped to deal with the outbreak, but it has received flak after a resident doctor at the corporation-run KEM hospital succumbed to dengue around 12 days ago.
Many resident doctors and staffers have complained that KEM has become a hotbed of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The administration has claimed it has issued notice to the hospital and carried out fumigation.
Meanwhile, doctors and medical practitioners have urged people to seek immediate medical help if they have symptoms like fever, cough, cold, severe headache and joint pain. They have advised people against resorting to self-medication. “If you have temperature, rule out the communicable diseases first,” Dr. Satish Shetty said.
