AGRA: Ten children, all below 15 years, suffering from high fever, died in Agra district in the last 48 hours. So far, 85 people with viral fever and dengue-like symptoms have succumbed in the district. Of these, 65 were children. Also, 295 cases of dengue were reported, according to the health department.
More than 5,000 people are still bedridden in the rural areas. Most of them are dependent on quacks for treatment. Now, pneumonia and diarrhea have emerged as a new threat for children in the Agra region.
Khemchand, a farmer and father of two-year-old Bokaran, said, “My son was suffering from fever for two days. We got him medicines from a private clinic as no doctor was available at the government centre. On Tuesday evening, his condition deteriorated. He died on the way to the SN Medical College.”
Mukesh Chaudhary, a resident of Midkoli under Bah block, said, “Five people with viral fever passed away in the past one week. Every house in the village has an ailing family member."
Chief medical officer (CMO) of Agra district, Arun Kumar Srivastava, said, “Health department teams are conducting door-to-door surveys in the rural areas to identify patients suffering viral fever and help them get the required treatment. Medical camps are also being organised in the affected areas."
The CMO had earlier confirmed a spurt in diarrhoea cases at government centres.
In Firozabad district, four more deaths due to fever and dengue-like symptoms were reported in 24 hours. Three others died in Etah, two in Kasganj and one in Mainpuri.
According to health officials, so far over 5,500 cases of dengue have been confirmed in Agra division - of these, 4,750 reported from Firozabad district, 630 in Mathura, 295 in Agra and 150 in Mainpuri.
