Health experts worried as Patna logs 10 dengue cases in 7 days

PATNA: Government as well as private hospitals in the city continue to witness rise in dengue and viral fever cases. Outpatient departments (OPDs) of all the major hospitals have witnessed a sudden surge in registration of such patients.
Patna civil surgeon Dr Vibha Kumari Singh said 33 dengue cases have been recorded in the district since July this year, including 10 in the last seven days.
Dr Singh said dengue cases were being reported mostly from areas like Kankarbagh, Bankipore, Nayatola, Danapur and Phulwarisharif. “Fogging is being done in these areas, especially in the radius of 500m from the houses of the patients. Cases of viral fever are also on the rise. All the hospitals have been asked to send the daily data of patients to the health department,” Dr Singh said.
The civil surgeon said one case each of chikungunya, malaria and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) has also been reported in the district. “The only JE case in Patna was recorded in Pandarak locality on September 10. The malaria and chikungunya cases were recorded in July and August, respectively. Fortunately, there has been no death due to dengue or other vector-borne diseases in the district so far,” she added.
Dr Chandra Mohan Kumar, additional professor of paediatrics department at AIIMS-Patna, said two dengue and three acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) patients were undergoing treatment at the hospital. “We usually prescribe medicines at the OPD for viral fever patients. At least 40 patients visit the OPD of the hospital per day with complaints of fever, cold, dysentery, skin rashes and body ache,” he said.
Dr Manoj Kumar Choudhary, assistant professor, department of general medicine, IGIMS-Patna, said there were three dengue patients at the hospital. “Of the total patients reaching the OPD of the general medicine department, 50% are those suffering from viral fever and seasonal flu. The most common symptoms are fever, cough, loss of appetite, nausea, body ache, headache and stomach pain,” he said.
Dr Manoj Sinha, medical superintendent at New Gardiner Road Hospital, said three-four viral fever patients visit the OPD of the hospital per day on an average. “Most patients are children below the age of 15 years. They complain of high fever, cold and upper respiratory tract,” he said.
Regional director (east) of a private hospital on Bailey Road, Dr Talat Halim, said 10 viral fever and seasonal influenza patients have so far been admitted to the facility. “One of the patients, who is in the ICU, has been diagnosed with highly contagious influenza B. Three swine flu patients were recently discharged from the hospital after recovery,” he said.