CHENNAI: As the winter season is around the corner, there is a spike in viral fever cases. On Sunday, 12-year-old boy succumbed to a viral fever at the Institute of Child Health, Egmore and his sister, who had been tested positive for dengue, was shifted to Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospital with septic shock.
According to doctors, Rishwan from Perambur was under treatment at a private hospital in Madhavaram for fever. He was shifted to the Institute of Child Health on October 11.
“However, he succumbed to viral infection around 4 am on Sunday. His younger sister has dengue. She was shifted to a private hospital,” said Dr A T Arasar Seeralar, the director of ICH.
Within a few minutes of Rishwan ’s death, a nine-year-old boy from Manali reportedly died of a bacterial infection at the ICH. Kaviyarasu, 9, was shifted to the ICH on September 9 from a private hospital in Madhavaram.
“When we did dengue test for Kaviyarasu, he had antibodies produced in response to dengue infection. That was the indication that he had a history of dengue fever and recovered from it recently. Antibodies produced in response to dengue infection stay in the body for at least six months,” said Dr Arasar Seeralar.
However, he was infected with acetogenic bacteria, a type of bacteria present in the environment.
“As his body immunity was weak because of previous history of dengue, he developed sepsis and died of multi-organ failure,” Dr Arasar Seeralar added.
Speaking to Express, a health department official said, “As winter season is round the corner, there is a spike in viral fevers. This is the usual case during the season. We should be vigilant,” he added.
According to the Union Health Ministry data, till September 25 in Tamil Nadu, 2,175 dengue cases and one death were reported. Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar had said earlier this week that there was a spike in viral fever cases in the State.