• Dengue admissions on rise at Kol private hosps
    Times of India | 9 October 2022
  • KOLKATA: Several private hospitals in Kolkata saw a sharp surge in dengue admissions during the puja earlier this week and the flow of patients hasn't ebbed ever since.

    At least four hospitals admitted between 20 and 40 dengue patients between October 2 and October 5, making it the leading ailment during the festival. The rise in admissions was preceded by a slight drop in the lead-up to the puja.

    The number of dengue cases has crossed 20,000 in Bengal, including more than 4,000 in Kolkata, which is the highest since 2019.

    Peerless Hospital, for instance, admitted 29 new dengue patients between September 30 and October 5. The hospital now has 27 dengue patients. "The number had slid just before puja. Since admissions drop during the festival, we expected fewer dengue admissions. But the number was much higher than what we had thought it would be," said Peerless CEO Sudipta Mitra.

    The admission surge has been just as sharp at Woodlands Hospital. "We have had 32 dengue admissions in the last eight days since Saptami with 4-5 new patients being admitted every day. In the last 24 hours, we had seven admissions and our current dengue occupancy is 23," said Rupali Basu, MD & CEO, Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital.

    AMRI Hospitals, too, saw a jump in admissions at the onset of the festival. Since October 1, it has had 35-40 patients across its three units. "The number hasn't reduced since Shashthi and we fear that it may go up marginally over the next few days," said CEO Rupak Barua.

    At CMRI Hospital, the number of admissions jumped from 35 on the eve of Shashthi to more than 50 during the puja. It stood at 55 on Friday which saw five new admissions.

    Number of dengue patients has swelled to 13 at Medica Superspecialty Hospital. As many as six of them are in critical care.

    Doctors warned that with sporadic rain continuing, collection of fresh water across the city could persist the spread of dengue. "This will continue for a few more weeks since light rain persists. This will keep replenishing the breeding grounds and prolong the spread of dengue. Till the rain stops completely, the outbreak will last. The closer we get to winter, the cases will start dropping," said internal medicine consultant Arindam Biswas.

    While the city had reported very few dengue cases during the first year of pandemic in 2020, several Kolkata hospitals had a significant number of dengue patients in October 2021. "Last year, we saw a dengue spurt just prior to the puja and it continued till late-October," said a private hospital consultant.
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