New Delhi: Dengue fever continues to create panic in the Capital. According to officials in the Health Ministry, the disease has claimed 19 lives in Delhi so far.
However, sources put the toll at a much higher figure, with more cases being reported from city’s LNJP and Ganga Ram Hosptials.
The death toll in the entire country rose to 45 on Saturday, with authorities in Delhi asking people to donate blood to cope with exigencies.
The Delhi government's call for blood donation came as about 825 cases of dengue have been reported the Capital in since the outbreak occurred on a large scale two weeks ago. Over 3,300 cases have been reported across the country.
According to All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Medical Superintendent D K Sharma, the hospital had admitted 82 new cases since Friday morning.
"Currently, 144 patients are under treatment at AIIMS, of which 32 are from the campus alone. Five fresh case have come in from the campus since Friday," he said.
In the Capital, the St Stephens Hospital is treating 188 patients, Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital 129 cases and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash has 124 cases.
What is dengue
Dengue is caused by the bite of the female aedes aegypti mosquito that breeds in stagnant water, is marked by high fever, skin rashes and a sharp drop in blood platelet count that can prove fatal.
Difference between Dengue & Malaria
* Malaria is caused by the anopheles mosquito
* There are definite anti-virals available for malaria
* There are no specific anti-virals for dengue
Dengue can often be confused with
* Influenza
* Typhoid fever
* Meningitis
* Viral Hepatitis
It can be prevented by:
* Avoiding mosquitoes breeding
* Checking for stagnating water
* Removing broken flowerpots, discarded tyres and clean coolers regularly
* Using mosquito nets
* In case of fever, seeing a doctor immediately.
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Dos & Don'ts
* Keep patient inside a mosquito net
* Give soft, liquid diet
* Don't give aspirin/brufen
* Don't ignore even minor bleeding
Signs of complication
* Bleeding from the gums, nose, skin or blood in stool.
* Cold and clammy skin
* Low blood pressure
* Weak pulse
* Drop in blood platelet count
Is there any cure for Dengue?
* No vaccine available
* Treatment is largely symptomatic
* For headache & body ache take Paracetamol
PM's kin on the road to recovery
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's two grandsons - 11-year-old Rohan and 17-year-old Madhav - and his son-in-law Vijay Tankha, a professor at St Stephens College, are undergoing dengue treatment at the AIIMS.
The trio was admitted to AIIMS earlier this week with high fever, body ache and vomiting - all symptoms of dengue.
"The condition of all the three members of the Prime Minister's family is absolutely stable and they are recovering fast," AIIMS chief spokesman Shakti Gupta said.
"To be on the safe side, we are keeping them for a couple of days more. We hope they will be discharged on Monday," Gupta told reporters.
A senior doctor said that preliminary tests on the trio turned out to be positive and they were immediately put on medication.
Dengue spreading bite by bite
While three people died in Delhi on Saturday, two children succumbed to the disease in Uttar Pradesh taking the state's tally to six. In Rajasthan, eight people have died.
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"A six-year-old child from Sitapur district died of the disease in the paediatric ward of King George's Medical University on Friday, while another child died in the Farrukhabad district hospital," a health department spokesman, V S Nigam said.
"The total number of dengue cases has shot up to 199 in the state with the detection of 40 new cases since Friday," he added.
Certain western Uttar Pradesh districts, bordering Delhi, were stated the worst hit. The maximum number of cases was reported from the New Okhla Industrial Development Area bordering Delhi with 44 cases, followed by Lucknow (37), Ghaziabad (29) and Muzaffarnagar (20).
Tamil Nadu Saturday said 25 of its 50 cases across the state had been reported from Vellore district.
Chekungunya may be next to hit Delhi
After dengue, Chikungunya may be the next to hit the national Capital with three positive cases of viral disease reported in Delhi so far.
"Chikungunya has been reported from Rajasthan and from those region which are close to Delhi and three positive cases have been reported in the national capital," Union Health Secretary P K Hota told reporters on Saturday.
According to National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) director Shiv Lal of the 28 samples received from Delhi for suspected Chikungunya, three were found to be positive.
The viral disease has afflicated people in 10 states in the country, with Kerala reporting the maximum number.
Of the 12,99,183 suspected Chkungunya cases in the country, 13,568 were sent to NICD and National Institute of Virology in Pune for confirmation and where 1,533 cases were confirmed.
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