Dengue claims Behala man, city records second death in a week
Times of India | 17 August 2025
Kolkata: A 35-year-old man from Parnasree in Behala, Arijit Das, died of dengue at the state-run School of Tropical Medicine on Thursday, marking the second reported dengue death in Kolkata so far this year.
Last Saturday, artist Swaroop Mukerji (75), a resident of Sunny Park, had succumbed to the infection.
A state health department official said though the dengue count was much lower this season than that in previous years, there had been a slight uptick in the past two weeks. Following Das's death, KMC health department initiated a special vector-control drive in and around Parnasree in Behala. A watch is also being maintained on a couple of dengue patients in the area, whose conditions are reportedly stable. Das had been down with fever since Saturday. After a blood test confirmed dengue on Sunday, his family took him to SSKM Hospital. With no bed being available there, Das was sent to Sambhunath Pandit Hospital, an SSKM unit, where doctors reportedly did not advise him admission. But his family admitted him to Vidyasagar State General Hospital in Behala.
Despite initial improvement, Das's condition deteriorated, leading the family to shift him to School of Tropical Medicine on Thursday. A hospital official said the patient's condition had already turned critical and the admission process was still on when he died. A KMC health official said the civic body was investigating the reason behind Das's transfer from Vidyasagar Hospital in a critical state. "We are finding what compelled the family to shift Das from Vidyasagar Hospital to School of Tropical Medicine," he said.
While the earlier victim, Mukherjee, had distinct comorbidities, Das had no known comorbidity. "Immune system plays a vital role in diseases, like dengue. The condition takes a turn for worse in case of hyper response against the virus, causing cell damage," said Bhaskar Narayan Chaudhuri, microbiologist at Peerless Hospital.
Currently, almost all hospitals in the city have admitted dengue patients, with the number rising slightly now. "Given that vector-control measures were launched much ahead of monsoon this time, the number of dengue cases in the city has stayed low this year. But we witness a rise around this time every year," said a health official. "While civic bodies must ensure vector-control measures are in place in public places, citizens, too, must take steps to check mosquito breeding inside homes.
" Health experts said the current weather condition was conducive to mosquito-breeding. Amid long gaps between shower spells over nearly two weeks, sunshine, humidity and water puddles provide Aedes aegypti mosquitos suitable breeding conditions.
Parnasree, where the latest victim lived, and surroundings are listed as a dengue-prone zone. "We are engaging extra manpower for a renewed vector-control and awareness drive there," an official said. Dengue threat also looms over some areas, sharing borders with other municipalities, like Maheshtala (near Behala), Dum Dum, South Dum Dum, Baranagar and Rajpur-Sonarpur. According to a new plan, KMC executive health officers will maintain close contact with health departments of bordering civic bodies and share data. "We will extend logistic support to them when required," said an official.