KOLKATA: A 29-year-old woman died of dengue shock syndrome at a private hospital on Thursday morning. The victim, Archana Devi who was originally a resident of Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh was admitted to the hospital on October 5 with high fever and low platelets count. Patient was declared dead at around 9 am on Thursday. Death certificate issued by the private hospital mentioned that the patient died of dengue shock syndrome.
According to the state health department figure, around 607 new confirmed cases have been detected across Bengal on Thursday. As many as 701 dengue patients have been undergoing treatment at various government hospitals. Director of Health Services (DHS) Dr Sidhartha Niyogi said that around 4,678 dengue cases have been reported in the last one week.
"Bankura is showing a mild increase in incidence while the number of cases is declining in Jalpaiguri and Howrah," Dr Niyogi added. Meanwhile, the health experts have pointed out that dengue cases may continue in the state till the middle of December. It will subside only after the temperature drops below a certain level. The current humid weather accompanied by scattered rainfall is an ideal situation for dengue larva to thrive. The situation will improve only after the winter sets in.
The health department has already opened control rooms in Swasthya Bhawan and also in the districts so that designated officers can keep a tab on dengue situations during festive season. Hospital lab services are kept available through the Puja holidays. District control rooms will take care of any need of platelets in any hospital. Health department has issued instructions saying that no hospitals can transfer patients to higher set-up only for transfusion of platelets. The department has also directed the chief medical officer of health in the dengue affected districts to ensure that medicine shops do not sell antibiotic drugs to the people without a valid prescription. The department came to know that people are buying antibiotics without doctors' prescription in various pockets.