Authorities to inquire if Yash Chopra' death was due to dengue

With 80-year-old Bollywood director Yash Chopra suspected to have died due to dengue, civic authorities in Mumbai are going to undertake an "audit" to ascertain if the exact cause of death was actually the virus.

Sources said top officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation are holding an audit review of Chopra's death to ascertain the exact cause and will inform the same to the Health Ministry.

They have also sought records from Lilavati hospital in suburban Bandra, where Chopra was admitted on October 13 after being diagnosed with dengue. He passed away at 5.30 PM yesterday.

The move comes close on the heels of Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad stating during a dengue review meeting in Chennai that every dengue death should be audited.

October being the month with severest spread of Dengue virus, the Health Ministry has again issued a fresh advisory to all states to check its spread and asked them to report all cases of dengue.

It has also asked states as well as hospitals to report dengue cases to help intensify efforts to contain the problem.

A meeting in Mumbai is also conducting a review of dengue in the country's financial capital. There has been a sharp rise in dengue cases in Mumbai this year against last year.

There has been an overall increase in the cases of dengue this year with 25,315 persons suffering from the disease across the country till now, with 137 deaths. Last year, there were only 18,860 cases and 169 deaths, while there were 28,292 cases and 110 deaths in 2010.