Calcutta: Mystery fever strikes 300

[Treyfish]

Re: Calcutta: Mystery fever strikes 300

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Canning (WB), Oct 29 (PTI) An 18-year old youth has died and eight others hospitalised at Kulpi in West Bengal's South 24-Parganas following outbreak of a mysterious fever, official sources said.
The youth, hailing from Jamberia village, died in Kulpi hospital today while eight others suffering from fever were also admitted there, hospital sources said.

Four villages in Falta in South 24-parganas have been officially declared dengue affected, the sources said.

Medical teams have been camping at the villages for the last two/three days, official sources added. PTI :tiphat:http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite...F?OpenDocument
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[Shiloh]

Re: Calcutta: Mystery fever strikes 300

Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081106/jsp/calcutta/story_10066763.jsp

Gag order to curb vector fears
DEEPANKAR GANGULY

The state government has directed the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) not to issue any statement on the mosquito menace.

The gag order was prompted by the civic health department?s failure to control the spread of vector-borne diseases and the confusion over the rising death toll, said sources in the government.

This means officials of the civic body ? including the mayor and mayoral council members ? cannot comment on the spread of diseases or confirm or refute reports of death in vector-borne diseases. The CMC cannot even make announcements on measures it has taken to fight the spread of diseases like malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis.

According to a senior CMC official, this is the first time such a gag order has been imposed on the CMC, which is an autonomous organisation under the state government.

?We were told that the state health department will collate all data relating to vector-borne diseases every day and pass them on to the state information and cultural affairs department, which will prepare press statements,? the official said.

At a meeting between the CMC and the state health directorate at Swasthya Bhavan on Tuesday, it was decided that the civic health department would send a daily status report on vector-borne diseases being detected in 18 civic health centres and 82 malaria clinics to the state health department.

The health department will also collate data from state-run hospitals, private clinics and diagnostic laboratories across the city.

?There is no central monitoring of the spread of the diseases. We are trying to put in place such a system,? said a deputy director in the state health department. The gag order was temporary, he added.

While running a campaign on the administrative failure in tackling vector-borne diseases in the city, Metro had highlighted the absence of a centralised information system.

?Correct data on the spread of the diseases could help the agencies take appropriate measures,? said civic entomologist Debasish Biswas.

A doctor of a government hospital, however, said the gag order and centralised information system would not be enough to tackle the menace. ?The authorities will have to take concrete steps like larva control and proper screening of patients with fever,? he added.

Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya and municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay refused comment on the gag order.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Calcutta: Mystery fever strikes 300

Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=231236

Unknown fever deaths now a matter of concern

Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, Nov. 16: Learning the hard way though, the state health department is at last leaving no stone unturned to get a grip over the over the spread of vector-borne diseases in the state, particularly in Kolkata.
After a few people died of ?unknown fever? in the city in the past one month, the state health department has asked the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to conduct thorough inquiry whenever any case of unknown fever death is reported from the city.
A senior health department official said: ?Though the cause of death of the so called unknown fever cases get diagnosed in majority of the cases, we should not take any chances especially when vector-borne diseases have already claimed a number of lives. The KMC has been asked to conduct thorough inquiry if any unknown fever death is reported. Our officials would also investigate such cases.?
Officials said causes of these unknown fever deaths usually get diagnosed but, the clinical tests take some time and the results come after the death of the patient. If a patient with high temperature dies before the test reports come, it is called unknown fever death. But when the reports finally come, the reason of the death gets diagnosed.
?This year also, a couple of patients from Behala were reported to have succumbed to unknown fever. Later, when clinical test reports came, it was found that one died of dengue and another died of acute pancreatic problem. But we should be careful,? another official said.
Officials also said proper inquiry into unknown fever deaths is required to keep a track of the diseases that are circulating in the city as well as the state. It can be recalled that a number of children had died of a mysterious disease in Karandighi in North Dinajpur a few months ago. The disease was suspected to be caused by a virus but it could not be identified as the National Institute of Virology, Pune is yet to a send a report in this regard. Officials said to nip such problems in the bud, the step to carry out thorough inquiry into the unknown fever deaths has been initiated. The KMC was asked to take proper steps in this regard in a recent meeting held between the health department officials and KMC officials.