Dengue claims sixth victim

BHUBANESWAR: One more person fell victim to dengue on Wednesday. He has been identified as Suji Pradhan, a resident of Angul.Pradhan had fever and as his condition worsened, he was admitted to Hi Tech Medical College and Hospital where he was diagnosed with dengue.  With this the toll mounted to six. Angul has been the epicentre of the dengue outbreak with most cases being reported from the district. Of the 134 blood samples from Angul tested at SCB Medical College and Hospital so far, 63 came positive for dengue. On Wednesday itself, 13 of the 66 blood samples were confirmed for dengue.Angul alone reported nine cases. As many as 45 suspected cases had come from Godibandha Primary Health Centre there and two were found positive. Out of the remaining 21 samples drawn at SCB Medical College, seven were from Angul. Three cases have been reported from Jajpur and one from Cuttack.The Health and Family Welfare Department said, as many as 191 dengue patients are under treatment at various government and private health care facilities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and all of them are from Angul. However, condition of the most is stated to be stable.Of the six deaths, Angul has reported four while Dhenkanal and Balangir recorded one each. Worried about the spread of the fever, the Health Department has directed all the districts to put in place emergency services. Angul administration has been asked to work on a warfooting to fight the menace.