BHUBANESWAR: The State recorded its first dengue casualty of the season after a 42-year-old woman, undergoing treatment at a City hospital, died on Thursday.Pratima Das of BDA Colony in Chandrasekharpur was admitted with very low platelet count at KIMS on Wednesday. She was tested positive for dengue and shifted to ICU after her condition deteriorated.
Sources said at the time of admission, her platelet count was only 20,000 and she was highly diabetic. Though eight units of platelet transfusion was given, she could not survive.Her sister-in-law, who has also been tested dengue positive, is undergoing treatment at the same hospital. Along with the two, while Chandrasekharpur area has reported four dengue cases in the last one week, Pratima’s death has spread panic among the residents.
Though dengue situation is not alarming, the State has reported more positive cases this season than the previous year so far despite an early advisory from the Health and Family Welfare department.
Director of Health Services Dr Braja Kishore Brahma said Odisha has registered 48 positive cases as against 45 during the period January to June last year. “While 10,000 blood samples were tested last year, this time 20,000 samples have been tested so far,” he said.
The Health department has asked all the private hospitals to notify all vector-borne disease cases and inform immediately. Health officials have started house-to-house mosquito breeding sources elimination in Chandrasekharpur area following reports of positive cases.
Meanwhile, with monsoon approaching, the State Government has upped its preparedness on vector-borne and water-borne diseases. An inter-sectoral convergence meeting of 14 departments was held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi to ensure coordinated efforts for prevention of the diseases.