First Suspected Dengue Death in Pune This Year,9-Year-Old Girl Dies
Pune: The first suspected dengue death of the year was reported in the Pune Municipal Corporation limits after a nine-year-old girl from Lohegaon died at Ruby Hall Clinic on October 18. The civic body has sought her medical records and test reports to establish the cause of death.
The Class IV student tested positive for dengue on a non-ELISA NS1 antigen test. The case will be classified as a suspected dengue fatality until the civic health audit committee confirms the cause of death, said Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health chief of PMC.
The girl developed a fever on October 17 after playing dandiya and was initially treated at a private hospital near her home before being admitted to Ruby Hall Clinic the same day. She died within 48 hours.
Doctors said she was diagnosed with dengue shock syndrome and dengue-associated haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare, severe inflammatory complication. She also had a history of asthma.
Her platelet count dropped from around 2 lakh during earlier treatment to 50,000 at admission and later to 9,000. Her liver and kidney functions were also compromised.
The PMC will submit the case details to the state government after the review. The civic body has launched vector-control measures in the affected area.
According to the PMC, the city has recorded 2,160 suspected dengue cases this year, of which 97 were confirmed by the National Institute of Virology (NIV). October accounted for 497 suspected cases and 32 confirmed infections. Suspected cases rose from 25 in January to 508 in September before dipping marginally in October.
The city has also recorded 35 NIV-confirmed chikungunya cases and 42 malaria cases this year.
The civic body detected mosquito breeding at 2,660 locations, including homes, offices and commercial establishments, and issued an equal number of notices. It has collected penalties totalling Rs 6.23 lakh.
