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16-year-old girl from Dum Dum Motijheel dies of dengue

A family member said she had fever for past 10 days, Madhu tested positive for dengue a few days ago and was admitted to hospital after her condition worsened

Subhajoy Roy, Snehal Sengupta Kolkata Published 10.09.23, 06:03 AM
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A 16-year-old girl from Dum Dum Motijheel who had tested positive for dengue and was admitted to the Infectious Diseases and Beleghata General Hospital died on Saturday.

The death certificate said dengue shock syndrome was the immediate cause of her death.

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Madhu Singh lived in the largely residential locality of Dum Dum Motijheel, interspersed with shops and commercial outlets, near Nagerbazar.

A family member said she had fever for the past 10 days.

Madhu tested positive for dengue a few days ago and was admitted to the hospital after her condition worsened, the relative said.

A number of people, including children, have died of dengue in Kolkata and its neighbouring areas this year. The government has not released official numbers on the toll.

The South Dum Dum Municipality, which covers Dum Dum Motijheel, has recorded 600 dengue cases since January, said a civic body source.

An official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said about 1,900 people have been infected with dengue in the Kolkata municipal area this year.

None of them had figures for the monsoon.

Several residents of the Dum Dum Motijheel said many in the neighbourhood had fever and several had tested positive for dengue.

Ramesh Chouhan, who lives close to the Singhs, said his family was not being able to keep theirs windows open because of mosquitoes buzzing at all times of the day.

Mosquitoes breed in open drains and garbage piles that dot the neighbourhood, he said.

“Vector control teams rarely come here. We are forced to not only keep our doors and windows shut at all times but also have mosquito nets up on our beds through the day and night,” said Chouhan.

Sanjay Das, the chairman-in-council member of health in the South Dum Dum Municipality, said: “Dengue is well within control and there are only three active cases across all 35 wards.”

“We are spraying larvicide and running government camps across all 35 wards in alternate weeks. Tests are being done free of cost. All our urban primary health care centres and the three government-run hospitals in Dum Dum are conducting dengue tests. Teams are also conducting door-to-door visits regularly,” Das told The Telegraph on Saturday.

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