CHENNAI: It was dengue that killed the four-year-old boy from Kancheepuram, who was undergoing intensive treatment at the Institute of Child Health (ICH), Egmore, on Tuesday, blood test results have confirmed.
Ruthresh from North Cheyyur in Kancheepuram district was referred to ICH from Government Chengalpattu Medical College Hospital on Monday after his condition deteriorated. He succumbed to infection on Tuesday around 6 am at the ICH.
“The blood test results of the boy came back as positive for dengue,” hospital officials told Express.
According to an official from the Directorate of Public Health, the boy was diagnosed with fever at a medical camp conducted at North Cheyyur on August 25. He was found to have mild temperature. Later, he was shifted to Cheyyur Government Hospital, and then to Government Chengalpattu Medical College
Hospital before finally reaching the hospital at Egmore, the official said.
“We have been conducting medical camps in the area regularly. We had been following the boy’s case since then,” the official claimed. However, officials are not able to explain how the boy’s condition deteriorated despite being diagnosed early by public health staff.
Officials added that all preventive measures are being taken at North Cheyyur. The water storage practice in Kancheepuram due to drought was one of the problems in containing dengue cases, sources added.