Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed officials to take the detection and treatment of the viral infection seriously.
Aedes aegypti mosquito. (Creative Commons)
Bengaluru on Saturday, 29 June, reported its first confirmed case of a death due to dengue since January amid a recent spike in cases, a senior official said.
The 27-year-old victim who died due to the vector-borne disease hailed from CV Raman Nagar in Bengaluru.
“He was admitted at Manipal Hospital on 25 June with a history of fever and died on 27 June due to severe dengue with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome,” Dr Syed Sirajuddin Madni, Chief Health Officer, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike told PTI.
On Friday, two suspected deaths due to dengue were reported in Bengaluru following which the civic body decided to carry out a death audit on Saturday to ascertain the cause of death.
“We have received reports. Out of the two suspected deaths due to dengue, one has been confirmed and it is the first case of dengue death in Bengaluru since January,” he said.
The other patient, an 80-year-old woman, who was a native of Tamil Nadu also had breast and colon cancer and had shown symptoms of dengue. However, her cause of death was not dengue, the official said.
With dengue cases being reported in the state, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday directed officials to take the detection and treatment of the viral infection seriously.
From 1 January till 28 June, Bengaluru has reported 1,385 cases of dengue.
According to the Health and Family Welfare Department, a total of 4,364 cases and five deaths were reported in the state till 28 June.
In the past months, Bengaluru experienced a significant rise in dengue cases and acute febrile viral illness cases, prompting urgent action from health authorities.
This increase has raised public concern, especially in the wake of the monsoon season.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) data shared with South First showed that the city reported 546 dengue cases in just 10 days — between 1 June and 11 June.
Anecdotal evidence from private hospitals shows that at least 10-15 cases of dengue are being reported daily. Also, about 10-20 cases of viral infections are being reported per week.
Data shows that the highest number of cases is being reported from the Mahadevapura zone: 177 cases in 10 days.
That is followed by the East zone, with 99 cases, South zone with 79 cases, West with 61 cases, Bommanahalli with 54 cases, RR Nagar with 39, Yelahanka with 33 cases, and Dasarahalli with four cases in the same period.
The BBMP and the Department of Health and Family Welfare officials attribute this increase in cases to recent rains, which have led to water stagnation, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes and the transmission season.
Department of Health and Family Welfare Commissioner D Randeep told South First, “Dengue fever, an arboviral mosquito-borne disease with perennial transmission pattern and sharp spikes, is observed during the transmission season (June to October).”
He said the absence of a vaccine and specific treatment makes dengue fever more fatal. Hence, symptomatic treatment and management of dengue cases play a key role.
Explaining the progression of the disease, he said classic dengue fever may progress to complicated stages like dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome if not treated early.
The state government reportedly follows the directives of the National Centre for Vector-Borne Diseases under the Central government in this regard.
Randeep said that the implementation of vector control methods was being done by the state for the treatment and management of dengue cases.
(With PTI inputs)
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