11 die of Dengue as Govt wonders

New Delhi: Dengue is spreading across the Capital and the fears of the disease acquiring the status of an epidemic are turning out to be real.

The Delhi Government has called a high level emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to control the outbreak of dengue and Delhi Health Minister Yoganand Shastri said that he will decide on whether to declare the disease an epidemic.

The number of patients are increasing with each passing – 45 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences alone – and the death toll too is mounting.

DEADLY NUMBERS

Sixty-two fresh cases have been reported in the Capital.

The total number of dengue cases has reached 512.

Eleven people are dead in Delhi because of the disease..

Forty-six people are admitted in the All India Institute of Medical Science with dengue.

Of this 16 are AIIMS employees.

The hospital has set up a ward of 125 beds for dengue patients.

Twenty-eight doctors are attending on patients in this special ward.

Delhi's neighbouring areas are also badly hit.

Eleven confirmed cases of dengue have been reported in Noida.

Over 1,500 patients have been examined in the specially set up fever screening OPD in the last 24 hours, and 15 patients have been admitted.

AIIMS is treating 45 of the 450 dengue patients in Delhi, 20 of those are from its own staff.

Hospital authorities admit that the load is getting hard to handle.

“It’s not necessary that all patients come to AIIMS itself. There's hardly any space to stand in the casualty ward,” says Professor of Medicine at AIIMS, Randip Guleria.

Patients, too, say the strain is showing.

DEADLY PAST
	Last year, 160 patients were tested positive for the fever, the situation becoming grave in the current year.
	The worst case of dengue outbreak was reported from Delhi in 1996 when over 10,000 people were affected. This year, over 448 cases have already been reported even before October, when the outbreak is usually severe.
	Neighboring cities such as Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Moradabad have also reported as many as 201 cases.
	Other cities around the globe have faced the dengue outbreak. In September 2006, Dominican Republic (America) reported 3,000 cases with 30 dead. Philippines (January - August 2006) reported 13,468 cases with 167 dead. Australia (March 2006), Confirmed 2 Cases, whereas China has reported 70 cases since June.

“My doctor referred me to AIIMS. I had to run around for two hours to get admitted,” says a patient Nishat Ahmed.

If the wards are packed, there’s also a lack of basic treatment facilities. “It's very disorganised. They don't have enough stretchers,” says the relative of a patient.

The hospital says it is augmenting casualty and emergency services to cope with the increasing number of patients.

"We are using the corridor outside the OPD to accommodate patients,” says Professor of Community Medicine, AIIMS, Bir Singh.

DENGUE FAQs

Difference between Dengue & Malaria