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| PM visits AIIMS; Dengue death toll at 21 in Delhi | | | New Delhi, Oct 8
As the number of dengue cases rose to 886 in
Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today visited the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where two more patients have
succumbed to the viral disease, taking the death toll to 21 in the
past 24 hours.
Dr Singh visited his two grandsons and son-in-law at the
institute and also went to the general dengue wards-- AB3 and D2--
to meet with the patients.
''He spoke to about 30 to 40 patients and asked about their well
being,'' AIIMS Medical Superintendent D K Sharma said.
He said the Prime Minister was in the institute for more than an
hour during which he inquired about the arrangements in the hospital
to face the dengue deluge.
The Prime Minister's grandson Rohan, who was diagnosed with
dengue on Wednesday at AIIMS, was discharged this morning. ''He is
fine now and fit to go home,'' doctors said.
Dr Singh's other grandson -- Madhav-- and son-in-law will be
discharged in a few days.
''They need to be kept under observation for some time. They are
recovering well and are doing fine,'' the doctors said.
Two MPs-- Bihar JD(U) President Rajiv Ranjan and Rajya Sabha
member Virender Malik --have been admitted to AIIMS for dengue
treatment.They have been admitted to the
private ward, doctors said. ''Both have tested positive for the
viral disease,'' they added.
The viral disease, caused by the aedes mosquito which breeds
in unhygienic conditions, continued to claim lives in the national
capital.
Forty-two-year-old Vinod, a resident of Ghaziabad, died last
night at about 2330 hrs after suffering dengue shock syndrome.
Najma, a resident of Dadri, also succumed to the dengue shock
syndrome yesterday evening.
In AIIMS, 28 more dengue patients, including three from the
institute, were admitted in the past 24 hours, taking the total
number of cases to 152.
Of the total number of dengue cases in AIIMS, 32 are from within
the campus. Nineteen patients were discharged from the hospital in
the last 24 hours.
More than 6,000 patients have been screened at the AIIMS
emergency OPD since Tuesday.
MCD Officials said of the total cases reported till 1000 hrs this
morning, 538 are from Delhi and the rest from outside.
The worst affected areas from dengue are Central Zone, Najafgarh
and Shahdra (North) which have reported 74, 70 and 68 cases
respectively.
Only emergency patients are being admitted in the institute as
the hospital is struggling to keep pace with a deluge of dengue
patients.
''Only those patients who need emergency medical attention are
being admitted. We are facing a severe manpower and resource
crunch.... Dengue patients are pouring in from all over the country
in AIIMS but the institute does not have infrastructure to deal with
this situation,'' said Dr Anil Sharma, member of the Resident
Doctors' Association.
He said the Union Health Ministry must ensure that other
hospitals in the city are also pressed into service to handle the
dengue deluge. ''Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss is not aware
about the ground situation.... Dengue should be declared an
epidemic. We will get more resources then. We are running short of
blood and platelets,'' he added. AIIMS has launched a 24-hour
helpline to create awareness about the disease.
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