Dengue outbreak in UP's Firozabad: Death toll rises to 60

Firozabad : The death count due to the viral fever in the Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh rose to 60, with two more fatalities recorded on Monday.

Additional Director, Health, Agar Divison, A K Singh said that a 14-year-old girl died in a medical college, while one child was brought there dead.

After the death of the girl, her sister Nikita Kushwaha squatted in front of a vehicle of Divisional Commissioner Amit Gupta but later somehow administration officials managed the situation.

A distressing video clip shows Ms Kushwaha telling Agra Divisional Commissioner Amit Gupta: "Sir... Please, sir... do something or she will die... please ensure her proper treatment." Ms Kushwaha also alleges a lack of treatment by and facilities at the government-run hospital in Firozabad.

At least 12,000 people in Firozabad are now bedridden with the viral fever that has the district in its grip, sources in the health department have revealed. A team of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had identified a dengue outbreak in the district last week. The deaths have continued despite widespread fogging and door-to-door surveys to drain out stagnant water and to arrest the spread of vector-borne diseases.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate, Chandra Vijay Singh said that keeping in view cognisance of newspaper reports regarding overcharging by pathologies, he has issued guidelines regarding rates to be taken.

Firozabad, around 50 km from Agra and 320 km from Lucknow, has been battling an outbreak of dengue and deadly viral fever for the past three weeks now, with most of the victims being children.

Some cases have also been found in neighbouring Mathura, Agra and Mainpuri, according to the officials.

At the same time, the Gonda district too has come under the grip of viral fever and dengue. Long queues of patients have started forming in government hospitals in Ballia.

The number of patients suffering from viral fever in the district is increasing by 15 to 20 per cent every day. The number of patients has increased to such an end that the family members coming to the district hospital have to wait for hours.