CHENNAI: An young woman with symptoms of dengue died at a private hospital here on Saturday.
Officials said Lavanya, from Kaatupakkam in Poonamallee, was suffering from fever for five days. As her condition worsened, she was admitted to a private hospital in Vanagaram. “She had dengue and was given treatment,” a source said.
However, Director of Public Health K Kolandaswamy said, “ We got a preliminary report saying she had a history of fever for five days. We have asked for the case history from the hospital. We can confirm once we investigate it. Though overall, cases have come down in the State, it is still being reported from Chennai, Tiruvallur and Vellore districts. Even in Coimbatore, cases have reduced.” One of the challenges in tackling the issue is uncleared scrap materials in the backyard of houses and vacant plots. There is still lack of awareness among people, he said.
Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram were the worst dengue-affected districts until last month. Officials say it is a worry that cases are still being reported from these districts. After recent heavy rain, overall cases of dengue have come down. Till the third week of October, health department officials confirmed 3,900 dengue cases and three deaths in TN Officials had said that one dengue death each was reported in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Tirupur districts, and another two deaths were under investigation, one at Tiruvallur and the other in Vellore district.