A three-year-old boy succumbed to dengue in Tirupati on Saturday night, sparking panic in several mandals of the district.
The boy, a resident of Chandragiri, was said to have fallen ill a week ago. He was initially taken to a local health centre and later to a private hospital in Tirupati. As his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, where he breathed his last.
His family cremated the boy in his native village in Irala mandal near Chittoor on Sunday.
While health officials in the district assert that government hospitals in the district are well-equipped to treat dengue cases, the claims are belied by the large number of patients from the district who are preferring to opt for treatment at private hospitals in Vellore and Chennai instead.
The District Malaria Officer (DMO) and District Epidemiologist remained unavailable for comment on the latest casualty.
Dengue is largely prevalent in several parts of the district, both in urban and rural areas. The District Medical and Health Officer, B. Ramagiddaiah, too confirmed that since January this year, over 104 cases of dengue were recorded officially. A couple of days ago, Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta too had expressed his disapproval with officials of Sri Venkateswara Medical College in Tirupati after several medicos were found to be suffering from dengue.
In spite of this, people say that the number of dengue patients could be ten times higher than the official number, as many of them prefer to approach private hospitals in Tamil Nadu. Between 2016 and 2018, the eastern parts of Chittoor district witnessed an alarming rise in dengue cases, with over 30 casualties. A medical officer was also suspended in Varadaiahpalem mandal on charges of dereliction of duty.
Meanwhile, a number of rural villages and municipalities are reeling under poor sanitary conditions, which are favourable for the spread of dengue and viral fevers. The eastern mandals have been affected by heavy rains in recent days leading to water stagnation on roads and contamination of drinking water sources.
