Chikungunya bites Delhi: 6 deaths and 1400 cases, AAP govt orders probe; MCD says situation 'under control'

Chikungunya is taking its toll in Delhi and a few other cities across the country, with at least five deaths due to the vector-borne disease reported in the last three days, including a fatality on Wednesday in the national capital where its number of cases have climbed to over 1,000.

An 80-year-old man from Ghaziabadhas died of chikungunya complications at a private hospital inDelhi, as the toll from the vector-borne disease mounted tosix in the national capital.

75-year-old Prakash Kalra of Mathura died of the disease this evening at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, where three other elderly men succumbed to it onMonday.

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"He was brought to our hospital in a very aggressive stage of disease, having suffered kidney failure. He was admitted on Monday in the ICU and his chikungunya RT-PCR test had come positive," hospital authorities said on Tuesday. 

Death of a 22-year-old girl from chikungunya at the Hindu Rao Hospital in the city was also reported on Tuesday. She had died on September 1, officials said.

Also Read:Chikungunya-Dengue outbreak with 2200 cases in Delhi: Death toll rises to 5; political parties busy in blame game

According to National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), around 12,255 cases of chinkungunya have been reported across the country till August 31. Karnataka alone has recorded 8,941, Maharashtra 839 and Andhra Pradesh 492.

Meanwhile, a senior health ministry official said at this moment, there is an "outbreak" situation with regard to Chikungunya.

In what could be the first death due to chikungunya in the national capital, 65-year-old Ramendra Pandey died on Tuesday.

Pandey, who was referred to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital from a Ghaziabad hospital, had succumbed to the disease at the hospital at 4 AM after suffering chikungunya with sepsis.

Also Read: Chikungunya bites Delhi: 5 deaths and 1400 cases, AAP govt orders probe; MCD says situation 'under control'

Dr B S Rana, Chairman, Board of Management of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said in all the four deaths which have taken place, the victims were elderly.

At AIIMS laboratories, 1,360 chikungunya blood test samples have tested positive till September 11.

Delhi govt orders probe

Delhi government has ordered a probe into the chikungunya deaths in the national capital in the last three days.

"4 Deaths due to Chikungunya reported from one pvt hospital (Ganga Ram). No death in any Delhi govt hospital. Enquiry ordered," Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain tweeted tonight.

Jain on Tuesday returned to Delhi from Goa, where he was campaigning for AAP.

"Medically, there is no death due to chikungunya, but media is showing deaths due to this disease. I want to make it clear that chikungunya is not fatal. There are 200 deaths in Delhi every day, but nobody asks about it," he told a press conferenceon Tuesday.

Doctors say that chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease in general, but in rare cases leads to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and old persons.

Sources said the probe would seek to find the exact cause of death.

Jain had also accused the Lt Governor of "paralysing" the health system in Delhi.

"Visited 5 hospitals of Delhi govt. Very good arrangements for treatment of Dengue & Chikungunya. No need to panic," he tweeted. 

MCD says situation 'under control'

The three BJP-led municipal corporations have sought to downplay the health crisis gripping Delhi.

Senior leaders from the three corporations, at a press conference, claimed that the "situation was under control" though health experts have termed the spiralling number of chikungunya cases, an "outbreak situation".

According to a report released on Tuesday by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, at least 1,057 cases of this vector-borne disease have been recorded tillSeptember 10, however, hospitals in the city altogether are reporting much higher number.

SDMC is the nodal agency for tabulating the report on the cases of the vector-borne diseases, on behalf of all civic bodies in Delhi.

Leader of House in SDMC and former South Delhi mayor Subhash Arya said, "People should not panic as the situation was still under control."

Arya, who was accompanied by Leader of House in NDMC, V P Pandey, East Delhi Mayor Satya Sharma, SDMC Standing Committee Chairman Shailendra Singh Monty and NDMC Standing Committee Chairman Pravesh Wahi, faced a barrage of tough questions from the press, even as the leaders claimed "adequate measure" were being taken to combat the situation.

"Fogging is being done in all our areas. We have already pressed 12 mobile fever vans in south Delhi and now we are planning to run them in two shifts instead of just one. Leaves of all health personnel have been cancelled from August onwards," Arya said.

Incidentally, mayors of North Delhi and South Delhi were conspicuous by their absence. North Delhi Mayor Sanjeev Nayyar is out of country while South Delhi Mayor Shyam Sharma is out of Delhi, a senior civic official said.

The three corporations have been drawing flak for allegedly not carrying out adequate and timely fogging in the city, with the ruling AAP in Delhi, holding them responsible for the civic and health mess the city is in today.

According to the municipal report, south Delhi has reported 255 dengue cases till September 10, the highest among all the regions in the city. North and East Corporations have recored 105 and 70 cases respectively.

Out of the total chikungunya cases this season, 202 has been recored in south Delhi, followed by 148 in north and 57 in east Delhi, the report said.

AAP minister asks parties to work together

AAP minister Kapil Mishra on on wednesday tweeted:  "I will call all Delhi MPs and MCD Leaders to join hands #OneDelhi."

Mishra on Tuesday sought to brazen it out on the issue of ministers missing in action by underlining the absence of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and mayors of north and south municipal bodies from the city.