Viral fever suspected dengue engulfs UP's Firozabad; death toll now 44; Mathura too sees death of 10 children

BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad Manish Asija on Tuesday claimed that the death toll due to suspected dengue in the district has risen to 44.

"Last night (Monday) three deaths took place, while two deaths took place on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 44," Asija said, adding that camps have been put up in 25 affected places.

A team of 15 doctors has arrived in Firozabad from Lucknow, and held a meeting with officials of the district administration and the health department. It also conducted tests in the affected areas of the district.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited some dengue patients in the district on Monday. Around 40 people, mostly children, have died in a week.

"Till now, 32 children and seven adults have died," the chief minister had said after the visit.

"The death of children will be probed by a team from King George's Medical University in Lucknow and a surveillance team so that the reasons can be ascertained," he had said.

The chief minister had also told reporters that the first case was detected on August 18.

Asija had on Sunday said that more than 40 children have died due to dengue in the district since August 22-23, and blamed the state health department and the local civic body for the "tragedy".

Meanwhile, District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh has ordered closure of all schools for classes 1 to 8 till September 6 due to the suspected outbreak.

In his order issued on Monday night, the district magistrate said it will be applicable to all government and non-government schools as well as coaching institutions.

He also warned of strict action against anyone disobeying the order.

Meanwhile, Agra Divisional Commissioner Amit Gupta was quoted by Indian Express as saying, “There have been nearly 40 deaths in Firozabad in the last one week. Primary cause appears to be dengue, though other causes are being ascertained as well”.

“We have ramped up measures to provide platelets to the concerned hospitals, and they are being brought from Agra as well. Inspections are being carried out by official teams,” he added.

Mathura has also reported death of 10 children due to fever.

The commissioner was quoted by the Indian Express as saying that these deaths were, however, attributed to scrub typhus, which, like dengue, is a vector borne disease, but which is caused by bacteria, not virus.

Agra and Mainpuri have not reported many cases of viral fever, but the medical department has been alerted.

Meanwhile, at paediatrics section of Firozabad Medical College on Tuesday evening, the patients' crowd was observed as being more than normal. According to the Indian Express, as many as 210 children were admitted to the 300-bed facility in Firozabad Medical College.

Such a severe outbreak of Dengue has not been witnessed in this area before. According to the doctors, the common symptoms in the children are fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting.

With PTI inputs