Kolkata doctors fret about high number of child dengue patients

KOLKATA: The number of dengue cases in the city has shot up after the Puja, as evident from hospital admissions. What worries doctors the most is that many of the affected are children. For example, 27 children were being treated for dengue at paediatric specialty Institute of Child Health (ICH) on Friday.

“Here, the number of cases started going up after the Puja, probably due to the rain that time. Two of the 27 admitted in our hospital are in the ICU and their condition is bad,” said Prabhas Prasun Giri, paediatric intensive care unit in-charge.

Experts said while earlier, the fever would remit in about four to five days, this time, the temperature would linger on for longer duration, requiring longer hospitalisation.

Fortis Hospital Anandapur treated 36 dengue patients in September, but the number went up to 80 in October. Currently, 14 patients, including three children, are being treated for dengue. “There has been a spurt in dengue cases in the past two-three weeks. A few days ago, I treated four children from the same family . Thankfully, we could send all of them back home,” said Sumita Saha, paediatrician at Fortis Hospital Anandapur.

Fifty-six-year-old Shantanu Majumder, who tested positive for dengue a few days ago, died at Ruby General Hospital on Friday. Majumdar’s father is also admitted there with dengue. “He had many co-morbid conditions, including bronchial asthma, obesity and hypothyroidism, making it tough for doctors. Currently, we have seven patients with dengue fever,” said Subhasish Datta, GM (operations), Ruby General Hospital.

Eleven patients are being treated for dengue at AMRI Hospitals Dhakuria, while the group’s Mukundapur unit has seven dengue patients, including three kids. “The number is not the main concern but the changing character of the virus and its appearance with a different vengeance. But the mortality is lower than other years. The state health department has ensured a uniform treatment protocol for dengue patients at all hospitals,” said Shyamasish Bandyopadhyay, internal medicine expert at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, which has around 40 dengue patients at present, including a woman cop of Kolkata Police.

Doctors hope the onslaught would subside in about two weeks. “The cases should go down in about two weeks,” said Giri.