Dengue toll rise to 19 in Delhi, UP confirms 6 deaths

New Delhi, Oct 7 (UNI) The death toll due to dengue in the national capital rose to 19, with two more people succumbing to the viral fever today and the number of reported cases increased to 825, while Uttar Pradesh confirmed six dengue deaths and 199 cases.

Delhi continued to remain in the grip of the vector-borne disease. Forty-two-year-old Usman Ghani, from City's Gandhinagar area, died due to dengue fever in the early hours while Angoori Devi, a resident of Palval, succumbed to dengue shock syndrome this evening, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The worst affected areas from dengue are Najafgarh, Central Zone, Shahdra (North) and Karol Bagh, which have reported 72, 69, 68 and 49 cases respectively.

The total number of reported cases of the fever rose to 825 of which 556 are from Delhi and the rest from outside. In AIIMS, 44 more dengue patients, including five from the institute, were admitted in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 144.

The Uttar Pradesh government today confirmed six people have died of the disease in various districts, while 199 others were suffering from it. Separate wards have been created in hospitals to treat patients of dengue.

Chikungunya, so far active in Karnataka and Maharashtra has started spreading its tentacles in UP, with most of the Bundelkhand region effected by it. A total of 2000 people are suffering from Chikangunya in Jhansi, Agra, Lalitpur, Jalaun and Hamirpur.

Thousands of people in Rajasthan are thronging to hospitals every day to get themselves tested as the fear of dengue looms large there.

The already overcrowded Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital and J K Lon Hospital in Jaipur are finding it difficult to handle the increasing number of patients.

The SMS Hospital have been receiving more than 800 patients a day at the Outdoor ward in the past few days. The extra medical staff deputed is also finding it difficult to cope with the chaotic situation. While the official dengue death toll remains seven in the state, the unofficial claims put the figure at 29.

The disease has also cast its shadow over tourist arrivals in the state for the famous Shekhawati Festival.

West Bengal Health Minister Surjyakanta Mishra said three to four cases of dengue were being reported every day from various parts of the state. Meanwhile, reports of a mystery fever resembling Chikungunya were received from four villages in Baduria area of North 24 Parganas district.

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