At least 32 children and 7 adults died of a ‘mysterious fever’ in Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh, in the last one week, said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who met with some of the patients and their families on Monday.
According to the Chief Minister, the mystery dengue-like viral disease has affected at least eight to nine localities in the district. ‘A separate ward has been created for this suspicious fever in Firozabad and the dedicated Covid-19 ward has been reserved as a separate ward. There have been three deaths at Medical College. In all, 32 children and seven adults have died due to the suspicious fever,’ Adityanath said.
The state government denied reports that the 39 persons died of dengue fever and the CM stated the fatalities would be investigated by a team from Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University and a government surveillance team. ‘Due to lack of awareness at the local level, the patients were taken to private hospitals and clinics. After learning about the fever, the health department and administration appraised authorities of the situation at the state level,’ Yogi Adityanath told the media.
Adityanath paid a visit to sick children at the district hospital and assessed the arrangements to ensure that they received good care. According to him, the first instance was found on August 18 and the families began treatment in private hospitals and clinics. ‘As the district administration came to know about the fever, a paediatric isolation ward was set up… where the death of three children was reported in the past two days. Two out of the three children were brought dead,’ he added.
Some patient samples should be sent to the King George’s Medical University in Lucknow and the National Institute of Virology in Pune, Adityanath said. He also visited Sudama Nagar, where a number of cases had been reported.
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Locals accused the health department and municipal council of ignoring sanitary issues, alleging that multiple drains in the district were overflowing. Manish Asija, a BJP MLA from Firozabad on Sunday alleged that over 40 children had died in the district owing to dengue fever in the previous week, blaming the state health department and the local civic council for the ‘tragedy.’
‘More than 40 children have died in Firozabad due to dengue since August 22-23. This morning, I received the sad news of (the death of) six children. Most of these children were in the 4-15 age group,’ Asija tweeted.
Responding to the claims, state health minister Jai Pratap Singh told a news agency that ‘the news is wrong. There is no such report (about dengue deaths).’
The fatalities have been a source of worry for Congress. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party’s general secretary, tweeted, ‘The state government should take prompt efforts to strengthen health services so that such diseases can be checked.’
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