A 56-year-old woman from Tollygunge’s Pashchim Putiary died of dengue in a city hospital early on Sunday, the fourth known dengue death in the city in the past week.
Sharmila Ganguly, 56, died of dengue shock syndrome, said an official of Peerless Hospital, where she passed away.
Exactly a week ago — on September 5 — a 59-year-old woman from the neighborhood died of dengue, caused by a virus spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The distance between the homes of the two women is around 250 metres, said local councillor (Ward 115) Ratna Sur.
Last Thursday, a 37-year-old man from Kasba’s Haltu and a 40-year-old woman from Kasba’s Kayasthapara died of the disease.
“Ganguly was on a ventilator when she was brought to our hospital on Saturday evening. She passed away at 5 am on Sunday. The treating doctor has mentioned dengue shock syndrome as the cause of her death,” said an official of Peerless Hospital.
An official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said the woman had undergone treatment for dengue at a hospital in Tollygunge for at least five days before she was shifted to Peerless Hospital. “The hospital in Tollygunge had informed us about her admission on September 6,” said the official.
The dengue deaths in quick succession have raised questions whether the KMC was doing enough to combat the disease. Many have complained that the frequency of visits by mosquito-control teams of the civic body to their neighbourhoods was too long to have any impact.
Experts said such teams should visit a locality at least once a week. Over 790 dengue cases have been reported in the city this year.