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Dengue outbreak feared in Andhra Pradesh

A five-member team from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases visited hospitals and localities in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, where incidents of the dreaded dengue fever have been reported, on Tuesday.

The team led by NICD Joint Director C S Aggarwal collected blood samples from three patients undergoing treatment in a corporate hospital in Hyderabad and from residents of Saroornagar and adjoining localities where a fatal case of dengue fever was reported earlier this month.

Medical and health officials informed the team that eight suspected dengue cases had been reported in the state so far. They pointed out that Sunita Agarwal, a 28-year-old housewife from Saroornagar, had died of dengue haemorrhagic fever on September 4. There were, however, no fatalities in other parts of the state, though four cases of dengue had been reported from Warangal and one from Krishna district.

The officials said this was the third time in recent years that dengue had surfaced in the state. The first case was reported in Kurnool district in 1997 and five cases were detected in Chittoor district in the year 2000, but no deaths were reported then.

The NICD team will complete its work of collecting blood samples from patients in Hyderabad, Warangal, and Krishna districts within three days and furnish the test reports in about 10 days, according to state Health Minister Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao. The state will thereafter initiate remedial measures to tackle the situation.

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