Kolkata: Dengue admissions rise across private hospitals – ET HealthWorld

Kolkata: Number of dengue patients has been swelling across Kolkata’s private hospitals over the last 10 days and several now have more than 15 admitted which is significantly higher than the last two years. Most hospitals are admitting 4-5 new dengue patients a day indicating that a spurt in numbers has begun. Experts believe it could continue till at least the first week of October.

Four dengue deaths have been reported in Kolkata since Wednesday.

Peerless Hospital now has 23 dengue patients, which is the highest since 2019. “There has been a quick rise in admissions over the last 4-5 days and we are getting new patients every day. The fever clinic set for Covid is now testing for dengue and quite a significant number has been testing positive. Fortunately, these patients don’t require isolation so we are getting ready to admit more,” said CEO Sudipta Mitra. He added that the hospital admitted three patients in less than 24 hours between Thursday and Friday.

Charnock Hospital has seen a sharp spiral in the number of admissions since last week. “While it was less than 10 prior to last week, it went up to 14 by the end of the week. Now, we have 14 admitted which is the highest since the pandemic. Since admissions continue, the number of patients could rise further,” said managing director Prashant Sharma.

At Woodlands Hospital, the number of dengue patients ‘continues to be high with an average of four admissions daily’, according to CEO Rupali Basu. “It remains similar to last week. The total number of admitted patients is 12 at the moment,” added Basu.

AMRI Hospitals have seen its dengue patients almost double in five days from 21 to 40 across its three units till Saturday. “There has been a sudden spurt in admissions at all our units, especially at Dhakuria. Many are being brought in a serious condition,” said a hospital spokesperson. A 59-year-old woman died of dengue at AMRI earlier this week.

At Peerless Hospital, however, all 23 dengue patients are being treated at general wards and none was at the ICU. “Very few have so far suffered a platelet drop and condition of patients remain stable. Other than high fever, symptoms have so far been moderate and manageable,” said Mitra.

Medica Superspecialty Hospital, that had 10 patients admitted till last week, has 17 patients now. Ten of them are in ICU. “We admitted seven patients in a week and this is likely to increase,” said chairperson Alok Roy.

Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education & Research (IPGMER) professor Diptendra Sarkar said he was disappointed by the people’s lack of awareness about dengue.

“Post-Covid, I had expected a far better response and more precautions, but it seems while we were ready to take all safety measures to prevent Covid, we continue to be indifferent to the dangers of dengue,” added Sarkar.

At RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS), however, only two are now admitted and the highest this season so far has been five.