Death Toll Climbs to 56 as Dengue Kills Two More in Telangana

Telangana has been plagued with the dengue fever for the past two months. Two more fatal cases have been reported due to the mosquito-borne disease. The death toll has gone up to 56 this year so far as authorities grapple to find ways to combat the deadly fever.

Dengue is transmitted mainly by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which thrives in densely populated tropical climates and breed in stagnant pools of water. The mosquitoes pick up the virus from infected humans – even asymptomatic ones – and pass it along to other people through bites. It is dubbed as the “break-bone fever” and is one of the world’s leading mosquito-borne illnesses and infects as many as 100 million people annually.

TOI reported that according to the government, all these deaths have been put under a list of 'suspected dengue deaths' and is being re-verified by an audit team. But the health department has admitted that there was a spurt in the spread of the virus since June 1, with 10,876 dengue cases reported from across the state.

Among the patients who succumbed to the virus on Thursday is a 30-year-old woman, Anusha Kohmineni, from Kapra. She died at city-based Yashoda Hospital. TOI quoted a health official, "She was brought in a collapsed condition to us, and she succumbed on Thursday morning."

The second patient, a 62-year-old man from Sainikpuri, also died of the virus at city-based Srikara Hospital, health authorities said. Health department sources said an 11-year-old boy died at Gandhi hospital of suspected dengue, but authorities said they would have to verify the death.

Dengue is not the only seasonal disease that is reeling the state. A two-and-half-year-old baby succumbed to 'viral fever with thrombocytopenia' at Ankura hospital, as confirmed by the health facility authorities. His condition was characterized by a drop in platelet count, much like that in dengue. "The child was suffering from fever since three days and had low platelet count which resulted in the patient going into shock," said an official.

Experts say that youngsters and elder people need to be monitored better and more closely as they are the ones more prone to these seasonal diseases. In fact doctors have even advised that there should not be any delay in seeking medical attention in case of any fever.