Ludhiana: Dengue deaths this year are likely to be the highest in the last five years. The District Dengue Review Committee has found that out of 13 suspected dengue deaths, four were due to the disease. The committee is expected to meet this week to review the remaining nine casualties and send its findings to a state-level panel, which will examine these dengue deaths before announcing them.
Civil surgeon Dr SP Singh said, “This year there were 13 suspected dengue deaths in the district. The District Level Dengue Review Committee has recommended that dengue is the cause of four of these. Now the state committee will review them. All pending cases will be investigated by the district committee this week.
Health department officials said the district committee comprising experts, including pathologists, microbiologists, epidemiologists and others, reviews each of the suspected dengue deaths. “The committee examines whether a patient has died directly from dengue or has multiple diseases or other conditions. The suspected dengue deaths mostly occurred from Ludhiana city and some were from the outskirts. After review by the state committee, the casualties could be more than five,” he said.
In 2015, seven deaths from dengue were reported; one in 2016; three in 2017; one in 2018; none in 2019; And two in 2020.
Meanwhile, the number of dengue cases in Ludhiana stood at 1,688 till November 20, which is the second highest number since 2015 when 1,876 cases were reported. There were 1,509 cases in 2019 and 489 in 2018.
Of the 1,688 cases in the district, 1,401 were from urban areas. Of the 1,401 cases in urban areas, 1,255 were from Ludhiana city, 76 from Khanna and 70 from Jagraon. Out of 287 cases in rural areas, 49 were from Koom Kalan, 46 each from Sahnewal and Sudhar, 18 from Raikot; eight from Samrala; 14 from Hathur; 15 from Malaud; 11 from Machhiwara; 19 from Manupur; 26 from Pakhowal; 11 from anklets; and 24 from Sidhwan Bet.
There are 4,282 suspected dengue cases in the district.
“With 15 to 20 cases coming in on a daily basis, the number of cases is likely to cross the 2015 tally. Inadequate fogging is also responsible for the case spike,” a health department official said.
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