11-year-old boy dies of fever at private hospital in N Kolkata, dengue suspected

Kolkata: An 11-year-old boy died of fever at a private hospital in the city on early Tuesday morning. The state Health department is yet to confirm if it was a case of dengue.

The victim, Aarush Dutta (11), a resident of Peary Mohan Sur Lane in North Kolkata was suffering from fever for the past few days. The family members of the victim took him to a local nursing home four days ago as his condition deteriorated. Medical tests confirmed that the boy had been suffering from dengue.

It was learnt that the victim, a school student, complained of fever around seven days ago following which his family members consulted a local doctor. The victim had been under his medication but his condition did not improve.

After his condition suddenly turned critical on Monday evening, the family members decided to shift him to a private hospital at Anandapur off EM Bypass on late Monday night. The patient's condition deteriorated further and eventually he died at around 5.55 am on Tuesday.

The death certificate issued by the private hospital mentions that the victim died of hemorrhagic dengue.

It may be mentioned that the state Health department has not yet confirmed this to be a dengue case.

According to a senior Health department official, anti-dengue drive is being conducted jointly by the Health department and Kolkata Municipal Corporation in the city. All preventive measures have been taken to check the spread of the disease, the official said.

This is the third case of dengue death in the city in the recent past. Narayan Shrestha (10), a resident of Duttabad road, who was admitted to a private hospital on EM Bypass on 30 August with high fever, died of dengue on the next day.

In another incident, a 50-year-old woman, Uma Sarkar, died of dengue at a private hospital in the city on September 2. She was a resident of Parnashree area.