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  India   Panel to study if virus linked to Delhi deaths

Panel to study if virus linked to Delhi deaths

Published : Sep 16, 2016, 3:39 am IST
Updated : Sep 16, 2016, 3:39 am IST

Given the furore created in the capital over dengue and chikungunya deaths, a “death review committee” has been constituted to see if the virus could be linked to deaths.

Given the furore created in the capital over dengue and chikungunya deaths, a “death review committee” has been constituted to see if the virus could be linked to deaths. The committee that includes top doctors from government hospitals is working over time and is expected to present their report to the Union health minister J.P. Nadda on Friday.

“The death review committee will give their report on Friday after a thorough analysis. The doctors are reviewing each and every cause of death,” Chandrakar Bharti, health secretary, Delhi, told this newspaper.

So far 12,225 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the country — almost half of what was reported in 2015. Significantly, sources said that casualties too have been mostly due to co-morbidities rather than the fever. “People have died due to pre complications like diabetes, hypertension, septicaemia and not due to chikungunya.

However, the government doctors are reviewing whether the virus is linked to deaths and will give their report on Friday for further clarity,” added Mr Bharti.

Delhi has been in the grip of chikungunya and dengue that continue to wreak havoc with the death toll from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 30 today even as the number of affected people crossed 2,800. In the country so far, there have been 27879 cases of dengue and 60 reported deaths due to dengue haemorrhagic fever. In 2015 on the other hand the country had reported 99913 dengue cases and 220 deaths.

Meanwhile, a 75-year-old man from south Delhi succumbed to chikungunya complications at a city hospital on Thursday, taking to 13 the number of fatalities due to the disease.

The death toll due to dengue also rose to 18 with half of the fatalities reported from AIIMS even as the number of cases of this vector-borne disease crossed 1,100. J D Madan died this morning at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), the fifth person to have lost life to complications triggered by chikungunya, at the hospital in last four days. “He had acute febrile illness and was tested positive for chikungunya by rapid PCR test, and died at 6:45 am of chikungunya sepsis with septic shock and cardio-pulmonary arrest,” hospital authorities said.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi