Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 26: One more person has succumbed to dengue while as 85 fresh cases of the vector-borne disease were reported today from various parts of Jammu and Kashmir, taking the total number of cases so far this year to 4553 and the number of deaths to 5.
A Health official said that a 65-year-old man namely Mohd Bashir of Rajouri succumbed to dengue in Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu a few days back and was reported by the concerned Hospital authorities only yesterday. He said the patient was diagnosed as suffering from dengue fever with encephalitis in a Public Hospital in Rajouri on October 18 and he was shifted to GMCH Jammu on same day.
“On October 19, the patient took his discharge contrary to the recommendation or will of the attending physician and left the Hospital. However, within few hours, the patient again came back to GMCH Jammu in critical condition and was readmitted but he could not survive,” he said, adding, this is the fourth death in Jammu province due to dengue this year and with this, the number of deaths due to the vector-borne disease so far this year has reached to 5.
The official further informed that 434 people were screened today for dengue out of which 85 turned out to be positive. Of the 85 positive cases, 49 cases were reported from Jammu district while 23 cases were reported from Udhampur, 8 from Kathua, 3 from Samba and 1 each from Reasi and Ramban. The positive patients include 76 adults and 9 children, he added.
He said maximum 2978 cases reported so far are from Jammu district followed by Udhampur district with 601 cases, Kathua 372 cases and Samba 293 cases. “There were 79 cases in Rajouri, 48 in Reasi, 47 in Ramban, 40 in Doda, 25 in Poonch, 7 in Kishtwar, 23 in Kashmir and 36 from other parts of the country,” the official said.
The official further informed that a total of 1441 dengue patients have been admitted to the hospitals till date and of these, 1308 have been discharged and 88 patients are still under treatment.