UP: Central disease control teams identify 'dengue' as main cause of deaths in Firozabad

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan notified Uttar Pradesh's Chief Health Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari that the Central teams had investigated and held dengue as the main cause of the recent deaths in Firozabad. This information was passed on to the state Health Secretary via a letter which said that the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) officials had concluded their investigation and interjected that the majority of the cases were of Dengue while a few accounted for Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis. 

Based on the detailed observations of the central team, specific recommendations were suggested to the state for prompt follow-up action. On Sunday, as many as 105 patients with dengue and viral fever were admitted to the Government Medical Hospital in Firozabad where the disease had claimed 51 lives. UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Monday had ordered strict action against officials of the Health and Urban Development Department found neglecting their duties. 

What were the findings of the NCDC & NVBDCP?

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to UP Chief Health Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari issued some guidance after the NCDC and NVBDCP teams completed their investigation on the recent deaths of children in the state. Union Health Secretary, while citing the results of the central teams, cleared the confusion that surrounded the air regarding a suspicious disease and finalised that it was nothing else but dengue that was claiming the lives. He also notified that a few cases of Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis were also observed.

The letter read that Vector Index was found to be high, with House Index and Container Index both above 50% in Firozabad district and accordingly the vector surveillance and control measures have been instituted." The letter also mentioned that two India Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers in the district had been posted for the next 14 days. They would further assist the Firozabad district in strengthening its outbreak response.

Recommendations based on the investigation of the Central team

The central teams comprising of the NCDC and NVBDCP concluded their investigations while putting forward some recommendations that are listed below

• All fever patients to be screened for Dengue, Malaria, Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis 
• Strengthening of ELISA based testing facility
• Activities related to fever survey, vector control and fever camps to continue as per micro plan submitted by the central team
• Strengthing of surveillance with the implementation of IHIP in the district in coordination with CSU IDSP, NCDC
• Entomological activities to be strengthened and continued as per standard guidelines and SOPs of NVBDCP. 
• Isolation beds and admission facilities in District Hospital of Firozabad and neighbouring districts to be augmented.
• Short reorientation of all doctors at the PHC, CHC and districts Hospitals cum medical college of Firozabad.
• Intensification of IEC activities by the District administration

CM Yogi orders action against lax officials 

UP CM Yogi Aditynatah on Monday held a meeting with concerned officials and directed that teams of specialists from Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and King George’s Medical University in Lucknow be sent to Firozabad, Agra, and Mathura in light of the outbreak.

In the meeting, he revised the current condition that the dengue-hit districts were in and ordered strict action against officials of the Health and Urban Development Department who were found negligent in discharging their duties in the Firozabad district.

Image Credits - ANI/PTI