Dengue in Kolkata

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=221469

Dengue kills 1 in Kolkata

Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Sept. 8: After a gap of almost one year, dengue has hit the city once again. According to the reports received by the state health department, one person has died and at least 40 people have been afflicted with the disease over the past 10 days or so.
A senior health department official said the death occurred at Beliaghata ID hospital about 10 days ago. After this, samples of all suspected cases admitted to different hospitals in the city were being sent either to Indian Council of Medical Research's city-based virus unit or School of Tropical Medicine for confirmation test of dengue.
?According to reports received from these units, at least 40 dengue cases have been confirmed in the city over a span of 10 days or so. Majority of the cases have been found from Beliaghata, Tiljala and Rajabazar areas,? said an official.
It can be recalled that dengue had created trouble in Kolkata in 2005 and 2006 claiming a few lives. This apart, hundreds of people were afflicted with the virus. In 2007, not many people fell victim to the disease. But experts apprehend that dengue could create havoc this year as these types of viruses are known to come back strongly after a gap of one to two years. As the disease has already claimed a life and others are afflicted with the virus, experts have urged the authorities to initiate vector control measures especially in the last phase of monsoon to halt the spread of the disease.
A senior health department official said the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is responsible for carrying out vector control measures in the city. It is supposed to carry out awareness generation programmes in this regard.
Dr Deb Dwaipayan Chatterjee, chief municipal health officer, said he is yet to receive any report from Beliaghata ID Hospital regarding the death caused by dengue. He also said as per the report received by him 17 people have been inflicted with dengue in KMC area.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

Experts sound dengue warning

16 Oct 2008, 0

KOLKATA: Experts have sounded a warning for Kolkata following three dengue deaths in the city.

In the absence of proper surveillance and preventive measures, the city is facing an epidemic threat, they said. Nothing has been done yet to speed up vector control measures or to verify if the mystery fever that has struck South 24-Parganas is Japanese encephalitis.

Last week, a resident of Behala succumbed to it at the School of Tropical Medicine. More than 3,500 people have been affected by a mysterious fever in South 24-Parganas. Most patients are from Budge Budge II and Bishnupur II blocks. Four new cases of chikungunya were confirmed in the district on Wednesday.

"Going by the symptoms, it seems the fever is either dengue or chikungunya. But the local civic authorities should have arranged for the collection of blood samples and got the result by now as the disease is spreading fast. This post-monsoon period, when temperatures are high but intermittent rains continue, is ideal for Japanese encephalitis. Since the area has paddy fields, which are the breeding grounds of Culex vishnui mosquito, there is reason to be scared," said virologist Tomonash Bhattacharya.

A section of KMC health officials expressed that the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) of KMC has been a "total failure". "Immediately after the Japanese encephalitis death, a rapid response team should have been sent to the area. They should have checked if there are breeding grounds for Culex mosquitoes in the area and have recommended preventive measures. A vigilance on the local piggeries was also necessary. But nothing was done," said a civic official.

Reacting to the grave situation, a team of KMC health officials went to Sabarnapara and launched a cleanliness drive. Subodh De, mayor-in-council member overseeing the KMC health department, said a malaria clinic would be opened near Sabarnapara soon.

KMC does not have the required number of entomologists either. It has just one against the five recommended by officials of the National Vector-borne Disease Control after the dengue outbreak in 2005.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ar_dengue_outbreak/rssarticleshow/3600862.cms

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%">Another dengue death in Kolkata</ARTTITLE>
23 Oct 2008, 1929 hrs IST, PTI
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=10></TD></TR><TR><TD width=470><TABLE class=fs11 id=printtool cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=prnt> </TD><TD class=mail></TD><TD class=disc> </TD><TD class=bkmark> </TD><TD class=save> </TD><TD class=wte> </TD><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 1px; PADDING-LEFT: 2px; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 5px"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left><!-- google_ad_section_start -->KOLKATA: One more person died of dengue on Thursday, taking the toll to four, while about 25 thousand cases of malaria have tested positive in the <TABLE style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 4px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 8px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD id=bellyad></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>city.

Rupesh Kumar Mishra, 21-year-old dengue patient, died at a nursing home on Thursday, Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said. He said that 76 dengue patients have already been diagnosed in the city.

The Mayor, however, put the death toll at two. He claimed that two of other victims, who died here, where not locals.

Besides dengue, other vector-borne diseases like malaria have claimed two lives and while encephalitis one.

The mayor said that of 1.76 lakh blood samples tested for malaria so far, 24,760 have tested positive.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation served a notice today to premier state-run hospital, SSKM, for mosquitoes breeding on its precincts. :tiphat:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ngue_death_in_Kolkata/articleshow/3634062.cms

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[Treyfish]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=429 align=justify border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ld>Dengue cases touch 1,019, virus appears to be on decline </TD></TR><TR><TD height=15></TD></TR><TR><TD class=kicker>New Delhi, Oct 24: The number of cases of dengue in the national capital reached 1,019 today, with 12 more patients testing positive for the virus, which, health officials claimed, is now showing signs of slowing down.

"Twelve more cases of the disease were detected today,

taking the number to 1,019 but the worst is over this season," MCD Public Health Committee Chairman V K Monga said.

While in 2006 and 2003, when the disease had taken almost epidemic proportions, the effect was felt till the end of November, the virus appears to be on the wane this time.

"As the early onset of monsoon had resulted in a spate of cases early in the season, the possibility of an early winter means the virus is likely to subside soon," Monga said.

The year 2006 had reported 1386 cases in Delhi and 754 cases in adjoining states till this time of October.

Civic officials have maintained that the unusually long rainy season and the resultant humidity were the reasons for the high incidence of dengue in Delhi.

As the winter slowly sets in, the fall in temperature will lead to a decline in the cases of the disease, they said.

"For the next month, we are likely to detect 7-10 cases on an average daily, before the virus finally dies down," Monga said. The city saw two dengue deaths this year. :tiphat:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ngue_death_in_Kolkata/articleshow/3634062.cms

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[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...orsens_26_nurses_down/articleshow/3644236.cms

Dengue bite worsens, 26 nurses down
27 Oct 2008, 0444 hrs IST, TNN

KOLKATA: Dengue, which has already killed six people and affected more than a hundred this year, is threatening to take on epidemic proportions in Kolkata.

In the last two weeks, at least 26 trainee nurses at Lady Dufferin Victoria Hospital on Sashi Bhusan Dey Street have been struck by the dreaded disease.

On Sunday, blood samples collected from 20 trainees tested positive. Panic-struck guardians of the boarders came to the hospital on Sunday and took them back. They were furious with the hospital authorities for not informing them about the outbreak and demonstrated at the hospital till late on Sunday evening. Police had to be called in to ensure that there was no chaos.

Hospital superintendent Tanima Mandal tried to reason with the guardians and explain the steps taken by the hospital, but the parents wa-nted to know why more than a quarter of the boarders had been infected with dengue.

Director (health services) Sanchita Bakshi said the hospital had offered medical support to the trainees.

?The guardians were adamant and did not want to keep their wards at the hostel any more. They should have been admitted and given proper treatment. The hospital authorities were told to release them from the hostel after the parents gave an undertaking. The health department cannot take responsibility for those who opted to move out of the hospital,? Bakshi said.

The scare struck when the 64-odd trainees returned to the hostel after the Puja vacations. Swati Sinha of Kaliagunj in North Dinajpur was among those who were detected with the disease in the second week of October. ?On October 13, I fell ill. I had very high fever and rashes broke out. A blood sample was collected and sent for tests which confirmed dengue,? Sinha said.

The final exam for the nurses? training course was scheduled after vacations. Sinha?s family was alarmed. ?The hospital informed us that she was suffering from dengue. But she had to appear for her exams and we couldn?t take her back home. The authorities had assured us she was being treated and her condition was being monitored closely,? said Surajit Sarkar, a relative.

But as the number of those affected grew, the other guardians were allegedly not informed.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=229392

KMC finds vector for JE, not dengue

Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, Nov. 2: At a time when dengue has spread rapidly in the city, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has not found significant presence of aedes aegypti, the vector of the disease, in Kolkata.
KMC health officials informed the top brass of the state department during a meeting held at Swasthya Bhavan last Friday that during an entomological survey they have found culex mosquitos but no significant presence of the vector of dengue.
However, experts said there must be presence of aedes aegypti otherwise dengue can't spread in the city. The latest report available with the state health department states that more than 120 people have been afflicted with dengue virus in Ward No. 30 alone. Approximately 18 people have died of vector-borne diseases in the city this year so far.
The KMC has not submitted any suspected case to the referral labs yet. Experts said if a proper investigation is conducted, hundreds of dengue cases would be confirmed in the city especially when many residents are suffering from fever.
During the meeting, where top health department officials, representatives of the city-based virus unit of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the School of Tropical Medicine (STM) were present, experts alerted the civic authorities after they found significant presence of culex mosquito. They said culex bishnoii is know to be carrier of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus and if this particular species of mosquito is found in substantial numbers then it is a real cause of concern especially when two encephalitis cases were reported in the city.
The KMC and the state health department have apparently started working together after vector-borne diseases started claiming lives. However, during the meeting, the health department asked the KMC to initiate proper vector control measures to stop the spread of dengue and other vector-borne diseases. According to the experts, the KMC had reacted late to initiate control measures in the initial stages which has helped the diseases to spread rapidly.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata_/Second_dengue_attack_is_deadly_/articleshow/3674620.cms

Second dengue attack is deadly
5 Nov 2008, 0429 hrs IST, TNN

KOLKATA: Haemorrhagic dengue, the virulent form of the fever that has already claimed eight lives in Kolkata in the past month, has been
unusually rampant this season. Even as experts and doctors are worried over the spiralling number of patients, they have pointed out that the trend was expected since dengue has been endemic in the city since 2005. Only second-time patients are likely to have haemorrhagic dengue.

"Those who had the fever earlier are falling prey. Dengue has four strains and a combination of any two of them leads to haemorrhagic dengue. All four types are prevalent in Kolkata and once it turns endemic , a recurrence is likely to be disastrous . That is what has happened this time," said entomologist Amiya Hati. In 2005, type III dengue had been most prevalent. Though an analysis is yet to be done, experts believe the dominant strain is different this time.

"A first-time dengue patient is relatively safe. But if he suffers a second attack of a different type, then haemorrhagic dengue is certain. This happens due to the conflict between the immunity developed after each attack," explained Hati. Dengue leads to high fever with joint pain and headache. Haemorrhagic dengue might lead to bleeding from the eyes, nose and through urine or stool.

Cases of patients being afflicted by two different strains together are rare. Even if that happens, the patient is not likely to have haemorrhagic dengue immediately for it takes about six months to a year for the strains to come into a conflict. "Those suffering from or dying of haemorrhagic dengue must have had the fever earlier. Dengue has struck Kolkata regularly since 1987. We need to map the outbreak pattern immediately ," said Nemai Bhattacharya, head of the department of virology, School of Tropical Medicine (STM).

Nearly 100 blood samples are being tested daily at STM for dengue, malaria and chikungunya. Around 5-10 % have tested positive for dengue so far. The figures are being sent to the health department. But the latter is yet to decide on analyzing the outbreak pattern. "The situation is under control and there is nothing to be alarmed about," said Sanchita Bakshi, director, medical services.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=230047

Dengue confusion reigns

Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, Nov. 7: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) today claimed through an advertisement that only 85 dengue cases have been confirmed in the city this year. A community-based survey carried out by the city-based virus unit of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), however, tells a different story.
According to the survey, nearly eight per cent of the people living in and around Narkeldanga are suffering from the disease or were afflicted with it since August, when the survey began. It was also reported that blood samples for the survey were collected from the houses as a majority of those afflicted did not get check-ups considering the fever to be influenza.
Officials of the ICMR virus unit said the survey is being conducted under a research project. A community-based survey in Ward 30 along with a survey of patients visiting Beliaghata ID Hospital and BC Roy Hospital for treatment is being taken into consideration under the research project to get a true picture of dengue in the area.
The number of dengue cases was found to be higher among the patients visiting these two hospitals, compared to the door-to-door collection. Eight per cent of the population of a particular locality suffering from dengue is indeed a cause of concern, say experts.
Experts also point out that the situation could turn critical if two or more types of dengue virus are circulating because dual infection (when a person gets afflicted with dengue after having suffered from another type of dengue earlier) often turns fatal.
According to the survey, blood samples of a total of 780 persons were collected, of which 60 persons were found to be afflicted with dengue. The survey of patients visiting the two hospitals revealed 84 more people were suffering from dengue. Four people in the city have already died of dengue so far.
Though KMC did not wake up to the problem in time, the state health department has asked the ICMR virus unit to send it a report stating the types of dengue virus in Narkeldanga.
Dr Sekhar Chakraborty, the deputy director of National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) and officer-in-charge of the ICMR virus unit, said: ?Primarily we have found some strange facts about the dengue virus types. After we get confirmation in this regard, we will send the report to the state health department.?

Japanese Encephalitis death
A woman died, reportedly of Japanese Encephalitis, at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital this evening, adds SNS. The victim, Mithu Mondal (32), was a resident of Khandock near Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas.

?Malaria data fudged?
KOLKATA, Nov. 7: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has been forced to release the ?actual? number of people afflicted with malaria after some civic health department officials complained that figures were being deliberately fudged to present a rosy picture of the city?s health scenario. Interestingly, this has resulted in a sudden spurt of malaria cases across the city. The figures have gone up from 25,109 in the last week of October this year to 41,223 cases in the first week of November.
At a KMC meeting on Wednesday, senior officials said that some doctors had raised objections to the figures presented by the chief municipal health officer, Dr Deb Dwaipayan Chattopadhyay. According to civic health department reports, there were 25,109 cases of malaria with 1,476 of these being plasmodium falciparum cases. The officials said that the figures were much higher than those made public.
When KMC sought ?updated? figures, the health department declared there were 41,223 cases of malaria in the city, of which 4,781 were plasmodium falciparum cases. n Abhishek Law

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue in Kolkata

Source: http://www.topnews.in/3-more-die-dengue-west-bengal-289263

3 More Die Of Dengue In West Bengal
Submitted by Piyush Diwan on Sat, 11/15/2008 - 07:20.

The vector borne diseases in the state capital has claimed one more life on Friday, while two others succumbed in Howrah and South 24 Parganas.

Kishore Roy (50), a resident of 47/2A, Nandaram Sen Street in Ward 9, died of nasty malaria at Marwari Relief Society Hospital on Friday morning.

However, senior officials of Kolkata Municipal Corporation?s health department refused to admit that Roy had died due to malaria.

Commenting over Roy?s death, Chief Municipal Health Officer (CMHO) Deb Dwaipayan Chattopadhay said, ?He was infected with malaria in Bihar but died in Kolkata. He has several other complications and malaria is not only the reason of his death.? He said that the authorities are doing their best to control the disease. But it was still spreading.

However, the blood tests conducted at a local malaria health clinic confirmed the presence of plasmodium falciparum in Roy?s blood.

With Roy?s death, the death toll of vector-borne diseases, including ?unknown fever? deaths, reached to over 30 in the city. The situation is deteriorating with each passing day.

In Howrah, a Lakshmi Kanta Hazra (41), a resident of Haat Lane in Ward 27 of the Howrah Municipal Corporation, was admitted to a north Kolkata nursing home with malignant malaria a couple of days ago, died on Friday morning.

In South 24 Parganas, Amar Patra (35), a resident of Kulpi, died of dengue in the SSKM hospital. He had been suffering from high fever for the last few days. The blood report confirmed the presence of the dengue germ. Speaking on this, CMHO Sachhidananda Sarkar said, ?I am yet to receive the reports of the health centre, where the blood sample of the deceased was tested.?

According to a report, nearly 600 people have been affected by the virus while four have died in the state.