News Analysis India

Tag: Viral fever

  • Viral fever in Firozabad: Central team says majority cases of dengue, a few of scrub typhus

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A central team which was sent to Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh to investigate the cause of a fever outbreak and deaths among children has observed that the majority of cases are of dengue and a few are of scrub typhus and leptospirosis.

    Firozabad district has recorded 51 deaths, mostly of children, and hundreds of hospitalisations in over a fortnight and the viral fever has now spread to neighbouring Mathura and Mainpuri districts.

    Based on the observations of the central team, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary has recommended screening of all fever patients for dengue, malaria, scrub typhus and leptospirosis.

    Bhushan highlighted the need to strengthen ELISA-based testing facilities and suggested that activities related to fever survey and vector control be continued under a micro plan submitted by the central team.

    He also recommended that surveillance should be strengthened with implementation of the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) in the district in coordination with the central surveillance unit at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and that entomological activities be strengthened and continued according to standard guidelines and SOPs of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP).

    He also recommended augmenting isolation beds and admission facilities in the district hospital of Firozabad and neighbouring districts and organising a short reorientation of all doctors at primary health centres and community health centres.

    Services of experts on infectious diseases from King George’s Medical University and similar institutions may be utilised for this purpose.

    “You may recall that a central team comprising National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) officials was sent to Firozabad to investigate the cause of fever outbreak and deaths among children and suggest suitable recommendations for containment of this outbreak.

    The central team has observed that the majority of cases are due to dengue, while a few are because of scrub typhus and leptospirosis,” Bhushan said in the letter.

    He further suggested intensifying awareness activities By the district administration.

    The NCDC has deputed two epidemic intelligence service (EIS) officers in the district for a period of 14 days and they will assist the district in strengthening its outbreak response, Bhushan said.

    A district official had said that over 100 people with fever were admitted to the district hospital on Sunday.

    The hospital had over 400 patients on Sunday, the official added.

    Children are dying of viral fever and dengue, but Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is making false claims of “all is well”, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Monday.

    There is an outcry in the state due to dengue and viral fever.

    There are huge crowds in hospitals, and children are dying due to a lack of proper and timely treatment, he said in a party statement.

    The BJP government is, however, not paying attention to the collapsed health services in the state, he added.

    Dengue fever has claimed the lives of hundreds of innocents in western Uttar Pradesh, and the outbreak is now visible in the eastern part of the state as well, Yadav alleged.

    In state capital Lucknow itself, there is a rush in hospitals, he said, adding that the disease has hit Firozabad, Mathura, Mainpuri, Kanpur and Farrukhabad among other places badly.

    The cries of mothers who have lost their children is a reality which is far away from the tall claims being made in government advertisements, the SP chief said.

    Citing various cases of hardships being faced by family members of patients in getting medical attention, Yadav alleged that the BJP government lacked sensitivity, and said dengue has exposed the reality of its claims of having improved medical facilities.

    There is widespread public anger against the BJP as it has shown disregard towards the health and the welfare of the people, he said.

    The BJP will never come back to power again, and everyone is confident that a ‘Samajwadi’ government will be formed in 2022, Yadav added.

  • Double trouble: More Mathura villages report dengue-like illness, Ballia registers significant rise in viral fever cases

    By PTI

    MATHURA: At least four more villages in the district have reported dengue-like fever even though no death was recorded, official said Sunday.

    Dr. Bhudeo Singh, the in-charge of the rapid response team said, the new villages which reported the cases are Ram Nagar, Fulgarhi, Chaumuha and Daghenta.

    “There has been no casualty within 24 hours but a report of dengue/fever has been received from four more villages,” he said.

    Koh, Jachaunda, Pipraut, Junsuti, Sakarva villages have already reported cases of fever, he said.

    He said 384 samples have been taken in Daghenta village and 40 people have been diagnosed with Leptospirosis.

    While a high-level team to examine the patients has been sent, an additional team of doctors would go to these villages for sampling and treatment, he stated.

    According to officials, seven patients admitted in Swarn Jayanti Hospital were discharged Sunday.

    The cases of viral fever in the district hospital in Ballia have increased by 25 per cent over the past 10 days, a doctor at the facility said Sunday, amid fears of the spread of dengue Medical superintendent of the hospital Dr VP Singh said the children’s ward is fully occupied with patients.

    “This is the rainy season when fever, weakness, body pain and diarrhoea patients register a rise, and it is quite natural.”

    Child specialist Dr J S Kumar posted at the district hospital said, “In the past 10 days, there has been an increase of 25 per cent in the number of patients of viral fever.”

    District Magistrate Aditi Singh said all village panchayats and urban local bodies have been instructed to undertake anti-larval spray and keep a special focus on cleanliness.

    Chief Medical Officer of Ballia Dr Tanmay Kakkar said all necessary precautions are being taken.

    “Everyday, 140 patients are being tested in the district hospital. Most of these people are typhoid patients. No death has taken place due to dengue or viral fever, and at present there are nine patients of dengue in the district,” the CMO said.

    He added all possibilities of waterlogging in affected villages are being redressed, and anti-larval spraying is being done.

  • Dengue, viral fever death toll climbs to 50 in UP’s Firozabad

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The death toll due to dengue and viral fever in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district mounted to 50 on Friday, even as a central government team reached here to take stock of the situation, officials said.

    Three fresh fatalities were reported in Firozabad as the inflow of patients continued in hospitals of the district in the grip of the epidemic.

    Considering the gravity of the problem, a six-member team of the Union health ministry arrived in Firozabad to look into all aspects of the disease, Additional Director (Health), Agra division A K Singh told PTI.

    “The central medical team under the leadership of Tushar N Nale from the Department of National Centre for Disease Control visited here to look at the situation,” Officiating Superintendent of Firozabad government medical college Alok Kumar Sharma said.

    The team is conducting an in-depth investigation into primary samples and other subjects along with collecting letters in the CMO office, Sangeeta Aneja, principal of the medical college said.

    Known for bangles and glass works, Firozabad is around 50 km from Agra and 320 km from the capital city of Lucknow.

    Some similar cases have also been found in neighbouring Mathura, Agra and Mainpuri, officials said.

    At a meeting in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the principal secretary (Medical Education) to camp in Agra and Firozabad districts to take stock of the situation, an official spokesperson said.

    The chief minister had paid a visit to Firozabad on Monday.

    Instructions have also been given to use isolation beds with the facility of oxygen reserved for Covid patients for the treatment of viral diseases, including dengue, he said.

    Chief Medical Officer Dinesh Kumar Premi, in a statement, said “so far, 50 people have died due to dengue and viral fever. Ten areas — nine blocks and a Nagar Nigam area — in the district are affected”.

    There are 36 active camps in the district and 3,719 people, including those who have fever, are undergoing treatment there, he said.

    Amid the rising death toll, District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh has made the chief development officer (CDO) the nodal officer of the district to oversee the treatment and other facilities for the patients.

    Singh had suspended three doctors with immediate effect on Thursday on charges of negligence and warned government doctors of strict action for any negligence in the treatment of the patients.

    Girish Srivastava of Primary Health Centre at Salai; Ruchi Srivastava, a public health expert; and Saurav were suspended.

    Firozabad’s Chief Medical Officer Neeta Kulshresth was removed on Wednesday following the spate of deaths, mostly of children, since August 18 due to suspected cases of dengue.

    Meanwhile, Sangeeta Aneja said 130 patients of dengue and viral outbreak were admitted in the pediatric ward as well as in the other wards of the Firozabad government medical college on Friday.

    As many as 68 patients were discharged from the hospital on Friday and 331 patients are being treated in various wards of the medical college, she said.

    The principal also said that in view of the increasing number of patients, another 100-bed unit is going to start Saturday morning in the medical college campus just opposite the 100-bed hospital in which doctors, ward boys and other staff have been deployed.

    According to the Additional Director (Health) Agra division, 49 samples had been sent from here to KGMU, Lucknow for testing, of which 43 were found to be dengue positive and leptospirosis has been found in two cases.

    No virus of any kind has been found in the remaining four cases, Singh said, adding that about four cases of dengue were found in Mainpuri in Agra division, but no death has been reported from there.

    In Mathura, he said, till date 54 cases of dengue were reported in which nine people have died.

    Two cases of dengue were found in Agra district and they are undergoing treatment and there is no news of any death from there, he added.

    The official also said that a team of ICMR is continuously collecting the larvae in the area and sending them to the National Pathology Virology Lab, Pune, and its report is awaited.

    In the investigation done so far, no variant has been found other than that of dengue and viral fever which matches coronavirus infection, he said. Aneja said the situation is likely to come under control and the spread of the epidemic will be controlled soon.

    Meanwhile, BJP MLA Manish Asija claimed that on the basis of information available with him, the death toll has climbed to 61. He said he is meeting the victims’ families and collecting information about the number of deaths.

  • UP toll crosses 100, outbreak of scrub typhus suspected

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:   With the toll of the mystery fever stalking Uttar Pradesh crossing 100 and its geographical footprint expanding, what was thought to be viral fever and/or dengue, got a new nomenclature: scrub typhus. 

    While a visiting ICMR team did not find any trace of Covid, experts suspect the outbreak of the vector borne scrub typhus bacterial disease. During the last 24 hours, hundreds of patients with dengue and viral fever-like symptoms have thronged hospitals across Lucknow. The symptoms for the current outbreak include fever with cold, congestion and drop in platelet count.

    Firozabad district continues to be its epicentre with around 75 deaths, many of them children. Also, 17 deaths have been reported in Mathura, three in Mainpuri and two in Kasganj. In Kanpur district, the disease killed about 10 people in the last one week. 

  • Has UP not learnt lessons from its disastrous Covid response: Priyanka Gandhi on viral fever spread

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday hit out at the Yogi Adityanath dispensation over the loss of lives in Uttar Pradesh due to viral fever, and asked whether the state government had not learnt any lessons from the “horrific consequences” of its “disastrous” Covid management during the second wave of the pandemic.

    The Congress general secretary said the news of over 100 lives being lost to a viral fever in Uttar Pradesh needs immediate attention.

    “Has the UP government not learnt any lessons from the horrific consequences of its disastrous Covid management in the 2nd wave?” Gandhi said on Twitter.

    All possible resources should be directed towards providing healthcare to the affected and taking adequate precautions to prevent the disease from spreading, she said.

    The death toll due to dengue and viral fever has climbed to 50 in Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh, according to official sources.