Seven more persons succumbed to dengue, pushing up the death toll to 56, and afflicted 87 more people, including a Janata Dal (United) leader, across the country as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met patients at the AIIMS here and reviewed preparedness to cope with the disease.
PM visits AIIMS, takes stock of the situation.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) on Sunday, even as seven more deaths were recorded from across the country, taking the toll to 56.
AIIMS was buzzing with activity as the PM met the dengue patients and inquired about their health. Singh also met his grandsons Rohan and Madhav and son-in-law Vijay Tangha. While Rohan was discharged shortly after the PM’s visit, doctors said that the other two might be discharged tomorrow. The PM also reviewed the hospital’s preparedness to deal with the outbreak.
AIIMS medical superintendent DK Sharma said: “The prime minister was satisfied with the efforts made by the hospital to tackle the disease.”
Meanwhile, the situation in the capital is worsening with over 61 new cases being registered on Sunday. Dengue cases have spiraled in the last two days with over 211 patients being admitted in various hospitals over the weekend. The total number of deaths due to dengue now stands at 22. AIIMS itself screened over 892 patients, out of which 28 tested positive.
The Delhi government is taking pains to ensure that the disease is being controlled and there is no shortage of blood or platelets. Several blood donation camps are being held in the city and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has appealed to the people to come forward to donate blood.
The health ministry says there are a total of 886 cases in Delhi and NCR, out of which 538 are from the Capital alone. “So far 22 people have died of dengue in Delhi. Of them, 11 had come from places outside the city,” said DS Negi, Delhi’s health secretary.
The killer outbreak has claimed seven more in the country, of which AIIMS recorded one death. Five others, including two children and an infant, died in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region and one person succumbed to the vector-borne disease in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Nearly 87 new cases of dengue infections were reported from Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata, Vidarbha, Andhra, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The afflicted included a JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Singh from Patna. He was flown in from AIIMS late last night, health officials said.
The Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have said that the High Court’s orders for containing the spread of dengue have been compiled with and an Action Taken Report would be filed detailing the measures taken to check its spread.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}