Dengue toll reaches 23 in Delhi

The death toll due to dengue reached 23 in the national capital on Saturday, with a 38-year-old man from south Delhi dying at Batra Hospital.

Harish, a resident of south Delhi's Deoli village, died at Batra Hospital & Medical Research Centre (BHMRC) in the city.

Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain earlier announced that a total of 11 people have died of dengue in the city.

According to hospital authorities, Harish was admitted last Saturday (September 12).

"We conducted dengue panel (NS-1 Antigen test) which was negative but Anti Dengue Antibodies test was positive meaning the patient was exposed to dengue before and his body already developed antibodies against dengue virus," Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi, managing director of BHMRC, said in a statement.

"Our record suggests that he was discharged from Safdarjung Hospital against medical advice. Patient was brought to us in a very critical condition with very low blood pressure and drowsy state," Chaturvedi said.

"... we provided best treatment available for his ailment. We took care of dengue dsymptomatic treatment like fever, blood transfusion etc. because dengue has no specific treatment," he added.

Last week, Avinash Rout from Odisha had died of dengue. Following his death, Rout's parents committed suicide. There has been a surge in dengue cases in the last few days and over 2,000 cases have been reported so far.

To tackle the dengue cases the Delhi government on Saturday announced opening of fever/dengue clinics from Monday. Delhi Police also organised a blood donation camp on Saturday.