A 54-year-old Kolkata police officer died of dengue at a private hospital early on Saturday.
Bansdroni resident Utpal Naskar tested positive for dengue on Monday after his physician suggested he undergo a blood test for the viral infection following complaints of severe headache and body pain along with fever on Sunday evening.
The officer attached to the detective department of Kolkata police was at home until his condition worsened on Thursday. He passed away around 5.15am on Saturday.
“His platelet count was above 1.5 lakh even on Friday. We are unable to fathom how he suddenly passed away,” said Mridul Naskar, a relative.
His blood pressure began to slide drastically and he had to be shifted to the ICU. He was later put on ventilation after his urine output started to decrease at an alarming rate, a doctor said.
Naskar died from dengue shock syndrome.
Dengue cases have been on the rise in parts of Kolkata.
Senior officials in the health department said on Saturday that the latest assessment of the spread of the disease revealed Kolkata was among high prevalence districts, along with North 24-Parganas, Murshidabad, Hooghly, Howrah Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling.
With figures continuing to rise, the state chief secretary met senior health department officials led by health secretary on Saturday to take stock of the situation.
“The chief secretary has instructed that door-to-door cleaning will have to be intensified in Kolkata and in the districts where the prevalence of dengue is high,” said a senior health department official.
“Among the affected districts, Kolkata remains a case for concern,” the official said.
Senior officials present at the meeting said the chief secretary instructed the commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (CMC) to ensure the drive to spray larvicide was taken up intensely. He complained that there were several pockets in the city where the larvicide had not been sprayed adequately.
At the CMC’s health department, senior officials said they had begun drone-based surveillance of high-rises and properties where water was getting accumulated.
Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
The aedes aegypti mosquito is the primary vector that transmits the disease.