Two women in their 40s died of dengue in the first two weeks of September, taking the year’s toll to three.While an unidentified 45-year-old woman from Malvan district, who was in the city to visit her son in Vikhroli, became the first dengue casualty this monsoon last Thursday, a 42-year old woman from Yogi Nagar in Borivli died of dengue hemorrhagic fever at Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in Andheri on Monday.
Rekha Lodha came down with high fever, body ache and was rushed to a local hospital. As her condition continued to deteriorate and her platelets depleted fast, the family shifted her to the Andheri hospital. “Even after being transfused with 36 bottles of blood, her condition remained critical. She died of dengue hemorrhagic fever along with multi-organ failure,” said her husband Jeetendra. Dengue cases in the city have shown a sudden spurt in the last few weeks amid concerns of a raging epidemic in the country. Over 1,513 people have been admitted to various hospitals in the city due to suspected dengue since the beginning of the month, although physicians say the actual numbers are much higher. The number of confirmed cases is merely 122, according to BMC statistics.
Borivli resident Jeetendra Lodha, whose wife Rekha died due to dengue on Monday, said eight to 10 people from three buildings in their neighbourhood are suffering from dengue. BMC officials said they will comment on Rekha’s death only after going through case papers.
Another woman, who succumbed to the disease last Thursday after seeking treatment in three city hospitals, had come from Malvan 10 days before she was hospitalized for the disease, civic papers said. She was initially admitted to a Powai hospital on August 30 with typical complaints of fever, headache and giddiness. Her platelet count too continued to fall so the family shifted her to Neptune Hospital in Dombivli. As her condition continued to deterio rate, the family rushed her to BYL Nair Hospital on September 3.