Kolkata reports second dengue death in Bidhannagar amid declining cases
Times of India | 3 November 2024
Representative Image KOLKATA: Shibani Das, a 69-year-old resident of the Gopalpur Sarat Pally area under Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Ward 4 close to Baguiati, died from dengue on Saturday. This is the second dengue death in the BMC area of Salt Lake and Rajarhat Gopalpur this year. Earlier, a few months back, a 60-year-old resident of Kaikhali died from dengue.
Overall, across the city, there has been no recorded dengue death in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area this year so far. However, sources said that, "The medical certificate of the cause of death issued by the private hospital off VIP Road on Saturday mentions that Das was admitted to the hospital on October 31 with a fever. She died on Saturday at 10.12 am, with her cause of death mentioned as sepsis and dengue haemorrhagic fever. Das also had hypertension and type-II diabetes."
Civic officials said that compared to the last two years when severe dengue outbreaks occurred across Salt Lake and Rajarhat Gopalpur, dengue has been very low this year. As per figures available with BMC until last Thursday, the total dengue figures this year now stand at 246. Last year, around this time, close to 3,500 cases were already reported.
BMC recorded 138 dengue cases last month, the highest month-wise this year. Out of this, 36 fresh dengue cases were reported last week, which is the second-highest weekly case count this year. The previous three corresponding weeks recorded 30, 37, and 35 dengue cases.
Officials said that the present trend of over 30 weekly cases is likely to recede in the coming weeks as the temperature is slated to slide down with no immediate forecast of rains. Officials said that precautionary measures to prevent the outbreak of dengue were taken in advance this year. Intensive cleaning and larvicide spraying work is ongoing, along with releasing guppy fish in water bodies. Earlier, notices were sent to several state and central govt offices, urging them to keep their premises clean to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.
BMC ended last year with 3,956 dengue cases, the second highest in recent times. In 2022, the civic body recorded 4,222 dengue cases, the highest since 2017. Going by the present trend and with only a month left for winter, officials said that the total number of dengue cases is expected to remain below the 500 mark this year.