Chikungunya taking toll in Delhi as five deaths reported in last two days

​New Delhi: Chikungunya is taking its toll in Delhi and a few other cities across the country, with at least five deaths due to the vector-borne disease reported in the last two days, including a fatality today in the national capital where its number of cases have climbed to over 1,000.

75-year-old Prakash Kalra of Mathura died of the disease this evening at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here, where three other elderly men succumbed to it yesterday. "He was brought to our hospital in a very aggressive stage of disease, having suffered kidney failure. He was admitted yesterday in the ICU and his chikungunya RT-PCR test had come positive," hospital authorities said.

Death of a 22-year-old girl from chikungunya at the Hindu Rao Hospital in the city was also reported today. She had died on September 1, officials said.

According to National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), around 12,255 cases of chikungunya have been reported across the country till August 31. Karnataka alone has recorded 8,941, Maharashtra 839 and Andhra Pradesh 492.

Meanwhile, a senior health ministry official said at this moment, there is an "outbreak" situation with regard to Chikungunya.

In what could be the first death due to chikungunya in the national capital, 65-year-old Ramendra Pandey died yesterday. Pandey, who was referred to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital from a Ghaziabad hospital, had succumbed to the disease at the hospital at 4 AM after suffering chikungunya with sepsis.

Dr B S Rana, Chairman, Board of Management of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said in all the four deaths which have taken place, the victims were elderly. "Uday Shanker (61) of Dwarka was admitted on September 11 and he died on September 12. His RT-PCR test for chikungunya had come positive. He had come to our OPD and then admitted.”

"Ashok Chauhan, 62, from Aligarh also died of chikungunya yesterday. He too was admitted in ICU on September 11 and his RT-PCR test came positive," hospital authorities said.

Doctors say chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease in general, but in rare cases leads to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and old persons.

Incidentally, Isha of Kabir Nagar area, died at Hindu Rao Hospital, one of the biggest municipal hospitals in Delhi, due to "complications triggered by chikungunya".

"She was admitted on August 26 at the hospital. Her chikungunya test had come positive. She died due to cardiac arrest triggered by complications from chikungunya," a senior doctor at the Hindu Rao Hospital said.

Incidentally, one suspected chikungunya death has also been reported at the AIIMS, but hospital authorities are yet to confirm it. According to reports, the "chikungunya death" at the AIIMS took place sometime in September.

At AIIMS laboratories, 1,360 chikungunya blood test samples have tested positive till September 11.

Meanwhile, the three BJP-led municipal corporations sought to downplay the health crisis gripping Delhi. Senior leaders from the three corporations, at a press conference, claimed that the "situation was under control" though health experts have termed the spiralling number of chikungunya cases, an "outbreak situation".

According to a report released yesterday by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, at least 1,057 cases of this vector-borne disease have been recorded till September 10, however, hospitals in the city altogether are reporting much higher number. SDMC is the nodal agency for tabulating the report on the cases of the vector-borne diseases, on behalf of all civic bodies in Delhi. Leader of House in SDMC and former South Delhi mayor Subhash Arya said, "People should not panic as the situation was still under control."

Arya, who was accompanied by Leader of House in NDMC, V P Pandey, East Delhi Mayor Satya Sharma, SDMC Standing Committee Chairman Shailendra Singh Monty and NDMC Standing Committee Chairman Pravesh Wahi, faced a barrage of tough questions from the press, even as the leaders claimed "adequate measure" were being taken to combat the situation.

"Fogging is being done in all our areas. We have already pressed 12 mobile fever vans in south Delhi and now we are planning to run them in two shifts instead of just one. Leaves of all health personnel have been cancelled from August onwards," Arya said.

Incidentally, mayors of North Delhi and South Delhi were conspicuous by their absence. North Delhi Mayor Sanjeev Nayyar is out of country while South Delhi Mayor Shyam Sharma is out of Delhi, a senior civic official said.

While hospitals in Delhi have reported at least nine deaths from dengue this year and five from chikungunya, including one this evening, the civic bodies have acknowledged only four deaths from dengue and fatality from chikungunya is still unaccounted.

Simultaneously, Delhi government ordered a probe into the chikungunya deaths.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain returned to Delhi from Goa, where he was campaigning for AAP. "Medically, there is no death due to chikungunya, but media is showing deaths due to this disease. I want to make it clear that chikungunya is not fatal. There are 200 deaths in Delhi every day, but nobody asks about it," he told a press conference here.

Sources said the probe would seek to find the exact cause of death. Jain had also accused the Lt Governor of "paralysing" the health system in Delhi.

The Health Minister also carried out inspections of five Delhi government hospitals today and appealed to people to not panic. "Visited 5 hospitals of Delhi govt. Very good arrangements for treatment of Dengue & Chikungunya. No need to panic," he tweeted.