8 children die in Agra in last 4 days, dengue cases on rise

AGRA: At least eight children suffering from high fever died in Agra district in four days. In the past two weeks, over 50 cases of dengue have been reported in Agra district. Fatehpur Sikri, Bah and Pinahat block are the worst affected. More than 1,500 cases of dengue have been confirmed in Agra division so far, according to the health department officials.
Chief medical officer of Agra district, Arun Kumar Srivastava, said, “The peculiar thing about this fever is that we are getting less time to treat patients.They are dying quickly. Alert health department teams are conducting door-to-door surveys in the rural areas to identify patients with high fever. Medical camps have been set up."
On Sunday, Ravi Pandey, a former gram pradhan and resident of Chachiha under Pinahat block, lost his 14-year-old son.
“Chotu had a fever for two days. We consulted a private doctor in Fatehabad. His condition deteriorated in the morning. He was unable to speak. We were referred to the SN Medical College (SNMC) by a local community health centre," Pandey said, adding, "I saw my child dying on the way.”
Three kids succumbed to high fever on Saturday. Two of them were siblings. Residents of Rasoolpur under the Fatehpur Sikri block of Agra district, Ruby (7) and Sachin (2) died at a private hospital in Bharatpur district. Suresh Chand, their father, alleged that staff at a local government health centre had denied admission.
On Thursday, Vipin Kumar, Tedi Bagiya resident, lost his daughter Pari (3) and son Anshu (2). Pari died at a private hospital while Anshu passed away at the SNMC's emergency ward. Both had high fever and low platelet count.
“Every household in the village has a family member with high fever and dengue symptoms. The community health centre is not admitting patients. The district hospital and SNMC is 50 km away. What should we do?” Vipin Singh, a resident of Midkoli under Bah block, said.
Meanwhile, three more deaths were reported from Firozabad district - the hub of dengue cases - in 24 hours. Besides, two died in Etah, and one each in Kasganj and Mainpuri.
In the last week, reports of deaths due to viral fever and dengue-like symptoms have surfaced from Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras, Meerut, Bareilly and some districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.