India - Death toll climbs to 100 as outbreak of fever, dengue rocks UP’s Firozabad district - August 30+

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/sto...881-2021-08-30

12 minors dead as outbreak of fever, dengue rocks UP’s Firozabad district
An outbreak of viral fever and dengue in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district has claimed 12 lives, most of them minors, sparking public anger against the local administration.
Siraj Qureshi
August 30, 2021
UPDATED: August 30, 2021 00:30 IST

An outbreak of viral fever and dengue in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district has claimed 12 lives, most of them minors, sparking public anger against the local administration.

While locals claim that there have been more than a dozen deaths in recent days, the health department, after conducting an inquiry, maintains that only eight deaths were due to viral fever and dengue.

But contrary to the government’s position, the ground reality is much different. India Today visited the villages of Nagla Aman and Kapavali in Firozabad district and found out that as many as 24 people died there in the last three days...

[Okieman]

I am familiar with the use of the terms "viral fever" and "mystery fever" in the Indian media. It seems to be a catch all phrase in which things like dengue, malaria, flu and other things can fall. That said, I am unsettled with what I have read concerning the viral fever in Uttar Pradesh. Apparently testing has been done for Covid and it has has come back negative. Indeed, Covid is being reported to be hardly present now in Uttar Pradesh. See this artcle:

Covid-19 test positivity rate drops to 0.006 per cent in Uttar Pradesh

https://www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/story/covid-19-test-positivity-rate-drops-to-0-006-per-cent-in-uttar-pradesh-1846875-2021-08-29

But this mysterious viral fever seems to have flared up very fast and is very intense. Above what is normal for these things. There is part of me wondering whether what is occurring is a mutated strain of Covid. Probably not.... I do recognize that what I may be experiencing is confirmation bias since I have been actively searching for news about the next bad variant. So what is occurring in Uttar Pradesh may simply be a combination of dengue and malaria. But something does not feel right here. Regardless of what ever it is my heart goes out to all of these folks. Here is another article concerning this outbreak:

Viral fever in west UP kills 50 in ..
Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...campaign=cppst
"
Since Times of India sometimes will not let me copy part of their articles to post here please follow the link and read. Also do a Google News search with the words Uttar Pradesh viral fever". There is one article saying that this is an outbreak of Scrub Typhus. But if I have read correctly in a subsequent search about Scrub Typhus it can be treated with antibiotics. Most of the articles indicate that the authorities do not know what it is and are investigating.

[sharon sanders]

32 Children, 7 Adults Die of 'Mystery Fever' in UP's Firozabad, CM Pays Visit


Some other districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Mainpuri and Mathura, have also reported cases of the fever.
THE QUINT
Updated: 31 Aug 2021, 1:14 PM IST

snip

Chief Minister Adityanath visited the autonomous government medical college in Firozabad on Monday, and issued directions to the concerned officials for the management of the dengue and viral fever cases, his office stated.

snip

In the wake of the spread of the disease, classes for students of 1st-8th grades have been halted till 6 September in Firozabad, news agency ANI reported.

https://www.thequint.com/news/india/children-die-of-unknown-viral-fever-in-uttar-pradesh-firozabad-chief-minister-yogi-adityanath-pays-visit#read-more

[Okieman]

Yogi orders good treatment of Firozabad fever patients

By HT Correspondent
PUBLISHED ON SEP 01, 2021 12:23 AM IST

snip

The chief minister had said on Monday that at least eight to nine localities in Firozabad district were hit by the mystery dengue-like viral fever and at least 32 children and seven adults had died of it in the past week. He had also met some of the patients and their families in Firozabad.

“A separate ward has been created for this suspicious fever in Firozabad and the dedicated Covid-19 ward has been reserved as a separate ward. There have been three deaths at the medical college. In all, 32 children and seven adults have died of the suspicious fever,” Yogi Adityanath had said.

The state government had denied reports that 39 people died of dengue .

snip

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/yogi-orders-good-treatment-of-firozabad-fever-patients-101630436033660-amp.html

[Okieman]

Very well written and informative article concerning this outbreak. I can only post a small portion. Follow the link and read the whole article to get a better understanding.
----------------------

Viral fever stalks UP town near Agra, 32 kids die in a week; officials say dengue
Written by Amil Bhatnagar | Firozabad |
Updated: September 1, 2021 6:16:53 am

snip

As of Tuesday evening, 210 children were admitted to the 300-bed facility. Residents and doctors from Kannauj, Etawah, and Agra have been assigned duties at the medical college, which was set up only two years ago.

“In children, the symptoms begin with fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting, Dr Sangeeta Aneja, Dean, Autonomous State Medical College, Firozabad, said.

“On Tuesday, we had 23 positive cases of dengue in the hospital. We are monitoring the children round the clock, and setting up blood banks to ensure optimal distribution of blood platelets. There is also a high discharge rate. The next few days will be closely observed,” she said.

snip

Local people said they had not seen such a severe outbreak of dengue ever in this region.

snip

“There is a huge rush… Many children in our village have fallen ill; we have never seen this before. It is a very scary time,” he said.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/viral-fever-stalks-up-town-near-agra-32-kids-die-in-a-week-officials-say-dengue-7481197/

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Okieman]

In the text I have copied from the article below it does not sound like dengue. It sounds like Covid or some other respiratory disease. They describe other cases in the article which do sound like Dengue. No doubt the sanitary conditions described are deplorable and can contribute to vector borne diseases. But few things can kill within a 24 hour or even 48 hour time span. They really need to identify what is going on here.

-----------------------------

Inside UP’s ‘mystery’ viral outbreak: A killer cocktail of open drains and dumps
ByAyush Tiwari01 Sep, 2021

snip

On August 28, Savita’s six-year-old grandson, Vir, died hours after contracting a fever. His death summary prepared by an Agra hospital noted “severe respiratory distress”, “gasping condition”, “high grade fever” and an oxygen saturation level of 40 percent.

In the neighbouring lane, Krishna, 6, passed away under similar circumstances on August 26. So did another six-year-old, Lucky Sharma, who lived in the adjoining colony, on August 31. A couple of streets away, Mohit, 16, died on August 20.

At least four other children in Sudama Nagar – Tanu, 4, Hema, 12, Rakhi, 7, and Nikhil, 8 – have similar stories.

snip

https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/09/01/inside-ups-mystery-viral-outbreak-a-killer-cocktail-of-open-drains-and-stagnant-dumps

[Okieman]

In Firozabad, ‘dengue-like’ disease has killed 32 kids in 11 days. No one knows what it is
SHUBHANGI MISRA 1 September, 2021 7:10 pm IST

snip

Reports of this disease have started pouring in from other districts of western Uttar Pradesh like Mathura, Agra, Mainpuri, Etah and Kasganj, according to a report in The Times of India. But Firozabad remains the worst-affected.

snip

The Firozabad district is currently treating the disease as a viral fever with dengue-like symptoms. Reported symptoms include, fever, chills, body ache, headache, dehydration, rapid decline in platelet count and stomach ache.

District authorities told ThePrint that many of the children who died tested positive for dengue.

Singh said: “Though this is dengue season, some children showed unusual symptoms along with fever, like inflammation of the liver and water retention in the stomach.”

snip

He said the district had tested 245 people on 30 August, and 27 were positive for dengue. “Since symptoms are largely of dengue or viral fever, we are treating it as such. But some patterns are just bizarre. I am sure research will reveal that this is a different disease altogether,” Kumar told ThePrint.

snip

https://theprint.in/india/in-firozabad-dengue-like-disease-has-killed-32-kids-in-11-days-no-one-knows-what-it-is/726246/

[Okieman]

Folks, this thing appears to be ramping up fast. Maybe it is Dengue and Scrup Typhus as some articles suggest, but if so it has spread over a quite large area. The towns and cities mentioned in this article are north and west of New Delhi. Cities roughly 300 kilometers away from Agra and Firozabad. They have had lots of rain and I am sure that the environment for vector borne diseases is present, but the speed with which this has occurred is unusual I believe. I will post the title of this article and the link, but the site will not allow me to copy and paste text.
-----------------------------------

Hundreds outside health centres with viral fever, 65 dead in Firozabad so far

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/hundreds-outside-health-centres-with-viral-fever-65-dead-in-firozabad-so-far/articleshow/85877129.cms

[alert]

ProMED suggests several alternative diagnoses:

Promed Post - ProMED-mail (promedmail.org)

Lots of rain would also raise the probability of waterborne leptospirosis, which would explain the liver symptoms mentioned above..

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/science/st...463-2021-09-02

Decoded | Scrub typhus, the mystery fever gripping parts of Uttar Pradesh
The spread of scrub typhus in the region has caused widespread concern. Here's everything you need to know about it.
Sibu Tripathi
September 2, 2021
UPDATED: September 3, 2021 00:47 IST


A mystery fever has been reported from parts of Uttar Pradesh, which has claimed over 40 lives, mostly children in the past one week. The viral fever has been identified as Scrub typhus.

Scrub typhus has been reported mainly from Firozabad, Agra, Mainpuri, Etah and Kasganj of Uttar Pradesh.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the affected region and confirmed that 32 children and seven adults died of the disease. He said a team of experts from Lucknow’s King George's Medical University would probe that the deaths, particularly of children caused by scrub typhus and ascertain the reason for outbreak. The Uttar Pradesh government transferred the chief medical officer of Firozabad in the aftermath of the scrub typhus outbreak. An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) team was called to take stock of the situation.

The spread of scrub typhus in the region has caused widespread concern. Another team of 15 doctors from Lucknow visited the affected areas to get the ground reality...

[Okieman]

Shiloh, India Today has been saying that it is Scrub Typhus for several days. Meanwhile, other news sites are saying that it has not been determined what the "mystery fever" is. Scrub typhus may be in the mix. But it is disingenuous for India Today to claim they know what it is or that it has been identified when the government and scientists are still saying that it is being investigated. If one looks at many articles about this outbreak you eventually see that politics is also in the mix, with one side criticizing the one in power for the response. It is a mess. Whatever it is, and it might be several things, it seems to be spreading geographically. Maybe the monsoon rains, being widespread, are driving vector borne diseases like dengue, malaria, scrub typhus and others to flare up all at one over a while area. But the speed of this seems to be different from past monsoon driven vector borne disease outbreaks.

[Okieman]

Over 400 admitted to hospitals due to viral diseases in Lucknow, citizens panic

According to reports, over 400 people have been admitted to the hospitals in Lucknow due to the rising cases of viral diseases.

The people of Lucknow are in a state of panic as cases of viral fever have taken over the city in the past few days, most likely due to the seasonal changes in the area. Lucknow has seen over 400 hospitalizations due to viral illnesses in the past few days, which has sparked fear in the people living in the city.

Over 400 people have been admitted to hospitals across Lucknow, which is the capital of Uttar Pradesh, in the past few days. Out of the 400 viral fever patients, 40 patients are children. Some of the major symptoms between 20 percent of the patients seem to be cold, congestion, and fever, as per media reports.

Doctors are trying to control the panic between the people by stating that these are just seasonal cases of viral fever, but the sudden rise in the number of hospitalizations across the city has alarmed most of its citizens.

https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-over-400-admitted-to-hospitals-due-to-viral-diseases-in-lucknow-citizens-panic-2909281

-------------------------

These are 400 admitted to hospital, not 400 showing up to see a doc.

[Okieman]

No let up in viral fever, dengue in Uttar Pradesh; death toll climbs to 100

https://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/no-let-up-in-viral-fever-dengue-in-uttar-pradesh-death-toll-climbs-to-100-1026574.html

----------------

Can't post text from this site. Some mention of the politics in the middle of this outbreak towards the end of the article.

[Okieman]

Health team finds large number of dengue mosquito larvae in Firozabad

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/health-team-finds-large-number-of-dengue-mosquito-larvae-in-firozabad20210902230408/