Measles: One more child dies in Mumbai, toll at 11; case tally rises to 220

With the death of a one-year-old boy on Tuesday, the toll due to outbreak of measles in Mumbai reached 11, of which two patients were out of the metropolis, while 12 more persons were infected by the viral disease, taking their count to 220, said the local civic body.

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) health department bulletin said 12 new confirmed cases of measles were found in the city, taking their overall count to 220. The tally of suspected measles cases rose to 3,378 with the addition of 170 such infections on Tuesday, it said. According to the bulletin, the one-year-old boy, a resident of Nalasopara (East) in adjoining Palghar district, died in a government hospital in Mumbai. The child was admitted to the government hospital after initial treatment at a private hospital and had developed respiratory failure due to which he was put on a ventilator on Monday. The patient's condition deteriorated and he subsequently died. The suspected cause of the death was "acute respiratory failure in a case of measles with bronchopneumonia", as per the bulletin. According to the bulletin, measles outbreak has been reported from 21 locations in 10 of the 24 civic wards of Mumbai. The patients infected with measles are isolated or admitted for treatment at eight hospitals -- Kasturba Hospital, Shivaji Nagar Maternity Home, Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rajawadi Hospital, Shatabdi Hospital, Kurla Bhabha Hospital and Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Hospital and Seven Hills Hospital. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Health Minister Dr Tanaji Sawant on Tuesday reviewed the situation arising out of the measles outbreak at a meeting in state secretariat in south Mumbai. Along with state health department officials, BMC officials and World Health Organization's Dr Meeta Vashi and Dr Arun Gaikwad were present at the meeting.