Woman dies of dengue in Kolkata, hospitals flooded with cases – Times of India

KOLKATA: A 59-year-old resident of Haridevpur, Sharmila Chatterjee, who was admitted to AMRI Dhakuria with dengue, died on Sunday night. Her death certificate cited sepsis as the primary cause of death and dengue shock syndrome the secondary reason.

Chatterjee was initially treated at RSV Hospital in Tollygunge but shifted to the Dhakuria hospital on Sunday evening as her condition deteriorated. She died five hours later. The chief municipal health officer, Subrata Raychowdhury, on Monday claimed the woman died primarily because of an erroneous treatment procedure. “The private practitioner broke the treatment protocol and prescribed her painkiller and antibiotics, which might have had led to further deterioration in her condition,” said Raychowdhury.
Chatterjee’s was the second dengue death reported in Kolkata this year, the first victim being a 12-year-old boy from Kalighat, Biswak Mukherjee, who had died on August 4. A KMC health department official conceded several south Kolkata areas, including Haridevpur and Kudghat, have been witnessing a spike in dengue cases. A borough health official said Haridevpur-Kudghat had recorded over 70 dengue cases in the past week. “We have started a special anti-dengue drive, especially in that area, as the number of cases has steadily been rising in the belt,” said an official.
Hospitals across the city have been witnessing a sharp spike in admission of dengue patients, with the number doubling the figures 10 days ago. Sources said more than 250 dengue patients were currently admitted to the big corporate hospitals in Kolkata, apart from those being treated at smaller facilities and government hospitals. Some hospitals have also started getting critical patients.
“Dengue cases refuse to subside. At the moment, we have 16 patients, four times the number we had a fortnight ago. Also, we have noticed a gradual increase in malaria admissions, going up by five times during the same period,” said Rupali Basu, managing director & CEO, Woodlands Multispecialty Hospital.
TOI on August 27 had reported that dengue admissions were fast outnumbering that of Covid-19. At present, the positivity rate in dengue is about 10% and that for Covid is about 2%. “With six new dengue admissions on Monday, we have 18 dengue patients at our hospital, double of what we had 10 days ago. The only positive thing is that none of them is critical,” said Sudpita Mitra, CEO Peerless Hospital.
From seven dengue patients two weeks ago, Belle Vue is now treating 15 patients. The three units at AMRI is treating 23 patients, while the number was 16 10 days ago. At Medica Superspecilaty, the number of dengue patients was two 10 days ago but the figure on Monday was 10. “Even a fortnight ago, we had only two to three dengue patients but now, the number has climbed to eight to 10 patients. Every day, we are getting patients, including children,” said Subhasish Datta, chief general manager, operations, Ruby General Hospitals.