New Delhi, Oct 08: Dengue claimed six more lives,
taking the death toll to 55, and the disease afflicted 87 more
people, including an RJD leader, were reported from across the
country as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited AIIMS here
meeting patients and reviewing preparedness to cope with the
disease.
Five persons, including two children and infant, died in
Maharashtra`s Vidarbha region and one person succumbed to the
vector-borne disease in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Himachal Pradesh reported its first case in Kangra
district today while 15 new cases of dengue were reported from
Uttar Pradesh. Thirty patients were under treatment in
Kolkata, five in Vidarbha and Andhra Pradesh and an equal
number of suspected cases in Madhya Pradesh.
One more person died of dengue
in Delhi today taking the toll to 22 and 61 fresh cases were
reported across the national capital pushing up the total
number of people affected by the disease to 886.
Bihar JD(U) chief Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Singh was
flown in from Patna admitted to AIIMS late last night, health
officials said.
The Prime Minister, accompanied by his wife Gursharan
Kaur, visited the premier medical institute in the morning
meeting 40 patients including his two grandsons and
son-in-law, and reviewing medical facilities.
One of his grandsons Rohan was discharged from AIIMS
following recovery while his son-in-law Vijay Tankha and
another grandson Madhav are likely to be discharged tomorrow.
The Delhi Government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi
meanwhile said the high court`s orders for containing the
outbreak of dengue were "by and large" complied with and an
action taken report would be filed detailing measure taken in
previous years to check spread of the disease.
The court had on Friday sought a reply from the central
and state governments and civic agencies on why they failed to
implement directions issued by it to control the disease.
Delhi has reported 231 deaths and 853 cases of the viral
disease this year.
The state governments have also launched measures and set
up task forces to stem the disease. Andhra Pradesh Health
Minister K Rosaiah asked NGOs to join a drive to create
awareness about preventive steps and importance of sanitation.
Madhya Pradesh Health Commissioner Rajesh Rajora said 50
lakh pamphlets on mosquito-borne diseases were distributed in
villages and control rooms formed in every district to collect
information about persons with high fever.
Kolkata Mayor Bikash Bhattacharya asked the city`s
denizens to be more responsible by not allowing stagnant water
accumulation.
Bureau Report
