Don't panic, government hospitals fully equipped to deal with Chikungunya: Satyendra Jain

With the ongoing health crisis in the city over the vector-borne diseases, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Wednesday appealed people not to panic and said the government will probe as to why in one hospital there have been so many deaths due to chikungunya.

"There is no death regarding chikungunya, if there is a person suffering from chikungunya he will show positive for about 6 months. How come in Delhi so many people died out of chikungunya it is a matter of concern. We will probe as to why in one hospital there have been chikungunya deaths," he said.

Asking people not to panic, Jain said arrangements in all Delhi Government hospitals are good and sufficient beds available till today.

"I again appeal to people to not panic, they must get admitted in hospitals only when doctors ask them to, not on their own," he added.

Answering to the Union Health ministry meeting on chikungunya cases in Delhi, he said he has been invited for the meeting.

He further claimed that chikungunya, which has caused havoc in the national capital killing 5 people till now, 'can never be the cause of anyone's death'.

However, Delhi government had earlier ordered a probe into the chikungunya deaths reported in the national capital in the last two days.

Four elderly persons have succumbed to this vector-borne disease at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Health Minister Jain yesterday carried out inspections of five Delhi government hospitals and said there is no need to panic.

Jain said, medically, there is no death due to chikungunya, but media is showing deaths due to this disease. He said, according to doctors, chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease in general, but in rare cases leads to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and old persons.