Siliguri: 9-yr-old ‘dies of dengue’

Siliguri: A nine-year-old minor died of fever in a private nursing home in Siliguri. Family members of the deceased stated that the child has died of dengue. The nursing home authorities have also mentioned dengue as the cause of death in the death certificate. This is reportedly the first dengue death in Siliguri.

The death certificate, issued by the nursing home states that the cause of death is ‘Dengue Hemorrhagic Shock Syndrome with severe Thrombocytopenia and cardio-respiratory failure.’ However Tulsi Pramanik, Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) of Darjeeling district, said: “We have no record of a dengue death. She died of sepsis damage.”

The child has been identified as Zaina Khanam, a resident of Swaminagar, Ward 7 under Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC). She was suffering from fever for more than four days. On July 20, she was admitted to a nursing home on Hill Cart Road when her condition deteriorated. Prior to that, the dengue NS-1 test was positive.

According to nursing home sources, the child’s blood platelets dropped below 10,000 at the time of admission. The child died on July 21. This is the first dengue death in the city this year.

“My child’s dengue test was positive; thereafter, we got her admitted to the nursing home. We want the municipality to keep the areas clean so that no other mother has to lose their child like this,” said Zara Khanam, mother of the deceased with tears in her eyes. SMC has been claiming that so far, 30 people have been affected by dengue this year. The number is lower than other years.