Review dengue deaths: Central team

Biswas, who heads the team, said a probe would be held to go into the reason for dengue deaths in the state. He said Tamil Nadu has seen an unnatural increase in dengue cases compared to last four years. “A mortality review will be conducted where cases of patients who had reportedly died due to dengue will be examined. It will be determined if death was due to dengue or any secondary infection,” he said. 

“It is not an isolated case which pertains to Tamil Nadu alone,” he added. 

In his report to the five-member team, Salem Government Hospital Dean Kanagaraj said nine persons had died of dengue in the last few days in the district and that 528 affected persons were undergoing treatment. The team visited Kottagounampatti area in Omalur on Saturday and senior officials and doctors accompanied it. 

Meanwhile, in Madurai, after inspecting various places on Saturday, Monitoring Officer of the district and Secretary to Government Housing and Urban Development Department Dharmendra Pratap Yadav said that the general cleanliness level in Madurai was not satisfactory and mass cleaning campaigns had to be taken up urgently. 

Ministers RB Udayakumar, Sellur K Raju, Sevvur Ramachandran along with Madurai Collector K Veera Raghava Rao participated in the dengue review meeting at the collectorate. 

Speaking to reporters, Udayakumar said that the state has saved more than 20,000 people from the disease and has been getting only negative publicity. “Even the Central team appreciated our work,” he added. Sellur Raju said that dengue is not a killer disease and only delayed treatment worsens the situation.

Three persons, including a pregnant woman Savithiri (27), died of suspected dengue in Madurai district on Saturday. Gayathri (20), a college student from Vadipatti and Kabilan (9) from Duraisamipuram village near Usilampatti were the other two victims. 

Meanwhile, in Chennai, health officials, on an anti-dengue drive, arrested a 44-year-old quack Chandralekha from Gerugambakkam, who has been practising allopathy for over five years in Mangadu. She has only a Multi-purpose Health Worker diploma and has been practising medicine without valid qualification.