Five more suspected Chikungunya deaths; toll rises to 73

Alappuzha, Oct 4 (UNI) Five more persons died of suspected Chikungunya fever in Cherthala taluk today, taking the toll to 73, even as teams from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) visited the area to assess the situation.

The victims were Damodara Kurup (85) of Pallipuram, Pallanikutty (75) of Kadakarpally, Joseph (55) of Kanzhikuzhy, Shanmughan, (62) from Chyckal and Sabil Raj (23) from Mamacherry.

The WHO and NICD teams visited the Chertala taluk hospital and held discussions with district health officials, sources said.

The WHO team consists of Dr Rajesh Bhatia, Dr C K Rao and Dr Ratheesh. The NICD team has Dr Jagbir Singh, Dr P K Srivastava, Dr Koushal Kumar, Dr Puruval, Dr Prasanna and Dr John as its members.

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