Panchkula/Chandigarh, October 21
Even as UT health authorities draw solace from having contained further spread of dengue fever in the Mani Majra area, the disease today ‘attacked’ in adjoining Panchkula, where seven suspected cases have been admitted to the General Hospital in Sector 6.
As many as seven suspected cases of dengue have been reported from different parts of the district, even as district health authorities have so far confirmed a single case of dengue.
In Chandigarh, a total of 26 fresh suspected dengue fever cases were reported today. According to UT health authorities, while 14 patients were admitted to Civil Hospital Mani Majra 12 persons showing symptoms of the disease were referred to General Hospital, Sector 16. Doctors at Mani Majra, said platelet count of these patients was below 50,000.
Even as serological results of two patients admitted in General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, yesterday are awaited, the falling blood platelet count of two patients admitted in a private Sector 11 nursing home is causing concern to doctors, constantly monitoring there condition.
Supari Devi, 50, and her son, Davinder, 25, both residents of Sector 10 here and Famida, 40, a resident of Bapu Dham Colony, Chandigarh, were brought to a private nursing home in Sector 11 this morning as suspected dengue fever cases.
The platelet count of all three patients was reportedly below 1 lakh per cubic mm of blood, and the former two were also showing haemmorhaegic symptoms. Information regarding their health status have been forwarded to the local health authorities.
At least four patients admitted to General Hospital- Shobha (26), a resident of Rajiv Colony, Vikas, a resident of Industrial Area Phase II, Ranbir (18) of Naggal and Sadhu Ram (60), a resident of Burj Kotian, are also suspected of having dengue fever. All these patients reportedly had high fever and their platelet count was declining, informed a senior doctor in the hospital. With this, total number of suspected dengue fever cases has gone up to seven.
However, Civil Surgeon, Panchkula, Dr B.S. Chaudhary, when contacted by TNS, denied that there was any suspected dengue cases. “Earlier, there was one case of dengue reported from the township. the victim, Shakti Chand, was working in Ram Darbar, Chandigarh and in all possibility, contacted the disease there,” he said.
Dr Chaudhary also said they had got intensive fogging done in all slum colonies and localities adjoining Mani Majra in Chandigarh, from where the first dengue cases were reported. He said the density of aedes mosquito was not found in any locality, except in Saketri, where they had got fogging done repeatedly to avoid the spread of disease.
Since the outbreak of dengue fever in the Mani Majra area on October 8, a total of 1,731 fever cases in UT have been examined so far, out of which 1,664 were screened for platelet count. “A total of 10 patients, whose serology tests were conducted both by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi and the PGI have tested positive for dengue IgM antibodies,” said a UT health official.
A total of 108 patients were examined at the OPD at Mani Majra Civil Hospital today. The total number of suspected dengue fever cases admitted at the General Hospital, Sector 16, has gone up to 30, while the number of such cases at the Civil Hospital, Mani Majra is 26. Doctors said that the condition of all these suspected dengue fever cases continued to be stable.
Meanwhile, spray teams of the health department continued their work in Old Mani Majra, Fort and Shanti Nagar, Daria village and Bapu Dham. Anti- larval teams took remedial measures in the area of Mansa Devi Road, Motor Market in Mani Majra and the CTU workshop in the city. Five teams of the health department continued vector surveillance in the Bapu Dham area.
