As the national capital continued to grapple with chikungunya outbreak, lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung, who returned to the city on Wednesday, reviewed the preventive measures taken by the authoritie
As the national capital continued to grapple with chikungunya outbreak, lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung, who returned to the city on Wednesday, reviewed the preventive measures taken by the authorities to fight the situation. Within hours of his return from the United States, Mr Jung asked the Delhi government and civic bodies to mount full-scale efforts to contain the growing incidence of dengue and Chikungunya, appealing to all to rise above political considerations to deal with vector-borne diseases which have claimed several lives this season.
“I appeal to all to rise above political considerations and fight the menace unitedly. Historically, in emergency, people have come together and fought together. That is what is required now,” said L-G Jung.
Six more people died due to health complication arising from chikungunya at a private hospital on Wednesday, taking to 11 the number of fatalities due to the vector-borne disease. All five deaths have taken place at Apollo Hospital and most of the victims were aged 80 or above.
The Delhi government has constituted a task force comprising experts from National Centre for Disease Control and the civic bodies to tackle the situation.
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain informed the L-G that the government has cancelled leave of all hospital staff and has issued directions to hospitals to employ temporary staff for the next two months. The Rogi Kalyan Samiti too is working round the clock and is making ORS available in hospitals. He added that the private hospitals must not use the situation to exploit patients.
Mahendra Singh from Ghaziabad, 80, died of chikungunya complications on Tuesday afternoon. “He was diagnosed positive for chikungunya through RT-PCR test. He died of multi-organ failure triggered by complications from the disease,” said the hospital. According to Apollo sources, out of the six patients who died, four were men and one woman. “One 31-year-old male patient and one 45-year-old female were among those who died during this period. Rest three male patients were above 80 years of age. The 31-year-old patient had both dengue and chikungunya. Three of the five patients were from Uttar Pradesh and the rest from Delhi,” they said. Five deaths from chikungunya were reported till Tuesday in the city that is battling a viral onslaught of this disease after nearly 10 years. Four of these deaths took place at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH). As per the municipal report, 1,057 cases of chikungunya have been recorded till September 10. Mr Jung directed all stakeholders — the health department and municipal bodies — to generate more robust awareness about prevention and cure through advertisements, radio spots, circulation of pamphlets/posters, particularly in neighbourhoods, especially those which are more vulnerable. He urged them to use advertisements to spread awareness, informing people of the dos and don’ts.
Earlier in the day, Mr Jain ordered municipal corporations to inspect all construction sites for breeding of mosquitoes within two days, and cancelled leaves of doctors and paramedical staff of its hospitals and dispensaries.
He said that the government has ordered its hospitals not to refuse to admit any patient with suspected dengue and chikungunya.
