Death toll due to fever rises to 42 in UP districts

The death toll due to an unknown fever in various districts under Bareilly division has risen to 42 with six more people dying in Badaun and Shahjahanpur in last three days, officials said on Friday.

Citing fresh reports, the officials said that the fever had claimed three lives each in Badaun and Shahjahanpur.

Earlier, 20 persons had died in a fortnight in Bareilly district, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Bareilly, Vineet Kumar said.

CMO, Badaun, Manjeet Singh said that besides the three fresh cases of death, the fever has claimed 16 lives in the district in the last 15 days.

According to CMO Pilibhit, Seema Agarwal there has been no casualty in the district, which too falls under Bareilly division.

The officials said reports of higher toll being published in a section of media were unfounded.

Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh, who had visited Bareilly earlier this week, had said that the government will undertake a "death audit" to find out the number of those who died due to the fever.

The state government has constituted three teams of doctors to look into the cases in Bareilly and Badaun, UP DG (Health) Padmakar Singh had told reporters in Bareilly.

In Lucknow, Director, Medical and Health (communicable diseases) Mithilesh Chaturvedi said, "A five-member team of the central government has also reached Bareilly. Preventive and remedial actions have been initiated in both the districts of the northern state".

He said camps have been set up in the districts and medical tests were being carried out using rapid diagnostic techniques.

Necessary medicines were also being distributed and fogging and spraying of larvacides has been undertaken, officials added.