Dengue outbreak in UP’s Firozabad: Death toll rises to 67; 3 doctors suspended

The number of people dying of dengue fever in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district rose to 67 as more people lost their lives in the viral fever outbreak, HT’s sister publication Live Hindustan reported on Friday.

The administration also suspended three doctors, including a public health expert, on charges of laxity, as per the report. On Wednesday, the administration ordered the removal of the chief medical officer of the district.

The suspended doctors are the medical officer-in-charge of a primary health centre, Dr Girish Srivastava; medical officer-in-charge Dr Saurabh Prakash; and public health expert Dr Ruchi Yadav. Amid the rising toll, district magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh also warned government doctors of strict action for any negligence in treatment to ailing people.

With the onset of monsoon in the country, Firozabad is reeling under a major outbreak of dengue in which many, mostly children, have lost their lives. Cases similar to those in Firozabad have also been reported from nearby districts of Mathura, Etah and Mainpuri.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited the district on Monday, has instructed urban and rural bodies to maintain cleanliness in their respective areas.

ICMR team rushed to Firozabad

A team of health experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been rushed to Firozabad to collect larvae from the affected area to find out the variant causing the health problem in the district.

Additional director (health) of UP AK Singh said the 11-member ICMR team along with a UP health department team and another 18-member medical team have started the work to find out the causes of fever and ascertaining possible deficiencies in medical facilities in affected areas.

The team members also visited various affected areas and talked to people suffering from the fever and based on their symptoms, collected samples for finding out the cause of fever.

The surveillance team is also working on controlling the spread of mosquitoes and checking the types of mosquitoes, news agency PTI reported, quoting an additional director of health.

In Mathura, some villages staged a hunger strike after a child succumbed to the viral disease in Koh Village. The issue was later resolved after MLA Karinda Singh arrived at the village and persuaded the villagers to break their fast. It was the 11th death due to dengue in the district as of Thursday.

State-wide programme to be launched

In the wake of the outbreak, the state government will launch state-wide programmes under which health workers will go from door-to-door to identify people suffering from fever and also those having symptoms of Covid-19. The programme will be launched on September 7 and will continue till 16.

In urban and rural areas, where one or more dengue patients are found, anti-larva spraying would be done in the entire affected village area or locality.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that spreads widely in the monsoon season. Its symptoms include high fever, headache, rash, muscle and joint pain.