A 35-year-old man succumbed to dengue fever on Tuesday in Hyderabad, taking the death toll to four in the past 10 days in the city. Though the hospital authorities claim that the cause of death was dengue haemorrhagic fever shock syndrome, the state health department has listed it as a ‘suspected case.’
According to reports, Praveen Kumar Beku, a resident of Quthbullapur, was admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Secunderabad on Monday with a high fever. His condition further deteriorated the next day and he succumbed to the fever early morning on Tuesday.
According to the hospital staff, Praveen’s condition was quite unstable when he was brought to the hospital.
“His organs had started to fail. He was in an unconscious state and his blood platelet count was less than 20,000. Since he tested positive for dengue, we started treatment but he died at 6:10 am on Tuesday,” the hospital authorities told The Times of India.
The dengue shock syndrome is more severe and the symptoms of the patients include bleeding from nose, mouth, gums, rapid weak pulse and difficulty in breathing and stomach pains. Patients of dengue shock syndrome usually die within the first 24 hours due to severe bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract and other organs, doctors say.
However, state health minister Eatela Rajender said the death cannot be confirmed unless a death audit is conducted. Case sheets have to be checked to ascertain the tests conducted, the treatment provided and the confirmation of the disease. Only after the audit, the patient’s name will be added to the official records on dengue deaths.
This is the fourth dengue death case in the past ten days in Hyderabad. The deaths of 13-year-old T John Winston, and five-year-old K Ruthvika, who succumbed while availing treatment in two different private hospitals had caused panic among parents in the city.
The government has been downplaying the dengue menace despite a large number of cases reported in the city. According to reports, though a total of 3,670 cases were detected from January 1 to September 8, not a single death has been registered in the official records in the state.