A 10-year-old girl from Tiruvallur district died at the Institute of Child Health, Egmore, on Tuesday, while a 11-year-old girl from Maduranthakam died on Monday, bringing the number of school-going children deaths in the city, after testing positive for dengue, to four in the last few days.
A hospital official said both girls were treated outside and then referred to the government hospital, and both were admitted in a state of shock. Both had tested positive for dengue. While the 11-year-old was brought in at 3.55 a.m. on Monday and died the same evening, the 10-year-old was admitted on September 24 and died on Tuesday.
On Monday, an eight-year-old boy who tested positive for dengue also died at a private hospital in the city.
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On Sunday morning, a schoolboy from Thousand Lights, who tested positive for dengue and had been admitted at three hospitals for treatment, died.
Actor Kamal Haasan had tweeted about this death. On Friday morning, a student of IIT-Madras had died at a private hospital after being diagnosed with dengue.
The city has seen over 130 cases of dengue this year, while the State’s figure has crossed 7,000 with over 15 deaths.
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On Monday, State Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar conducted a dengue management protocol meeting for doctors from the private sector, government hospitals and from the Chennai Corporation.
State Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said the Health Department has geared up for the oncoming monsoon season and stressed that while awareness about dengue has spread, there is still a lack of change in behaviour when it comes to storing water.
Sessions for doctors
In addition to the WHO protocol, technical sessions were conducted by doctors. “The government’s focus is on using the daily surveillance and notifications from doctors who work in the areas from where the cases were reported,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Minister inspected fever control activities in K.K. Nagar. Resident welfare associations actively participated, said Dr. Radhakrishnan. “In addition to focussing on inter-departmental coordination, involving people in the fight against dengue is the only way to bring about a sustainable solution,” he said.