Chikungunya claims five more lives, toll climbs to 10

AIIMS verifying one more death

With five more chikungunya deaths being reported on Wednesday, the disease has claimed 10 lives in the capital so far this season.

The five deaths took place over the past three weeks at the Apollo Hospital, but had not been made public — though the private hospital says it had informed the concerned authorities earlier.

Doctors are verifying whether an eleventh victim died of chikungunya at AIIMS on Tuesday. If confirmed, the toll will reach 11 so far this season. This 50-year-old victim was a resident of Muzaffarnagar. He was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday.

AIIMS authorities have also been verifying the cause of death of a ‘suspected phi kun gun’ patient which took place earlier this month.

In all, 1,057 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the city up to September 10, according to a weekly municipal report released on Monday.

Hours after his return from a trip abroad, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung took a review meeting on the crisis with city’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain, municipal corporation officials and medical superintendents of government hospitals.
 
Apollo Hospital authorities said a 31-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman had died of chikungunya in August. Three persons, all of them over 80, died earlier this month.

The hospital said it reported these deaths to the Centre’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, but they have not figured so far in the data released every week by municipal corporations.

Of the five deaths reported earlier in the capital, four were at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and one at Hindu Rao Hospital.

According to National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, before these deaths, the last suspected chikungunya death was in Kerala in 2006. But later an investigation showed that chikungunya was not the cause.
 
Health Ministry reviews situation
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Wednesday sought a report on the chikungunya deaths from the Delhi government and instructed the officials to be alert to prevent any escalation of the ongoing public health crisis, reports DHNS from New Delhi.
“We have sought a detailed report from the Delhi government (regarding chikungunya deaths) as to what has been the co-morbidity in these death cases and its details. There is no second opinion that death does not occur due to chikungunya. It does not become the cause of death. But still, we have sought a detailed report from Delhi government. Whatever help and support is needed will be given,” Nadda told reporters here after a review meeting.