Dengue Claims its First Victim in Kolkata

Fears of a dengue outbreak in Kolkata have come true with the first death from the mosquito-borne disease reported from a southern neighbourhood.

A youth from south Kolkata's Regent Park died Sunday night from the disease at the Nilratan Medical College and Hospital, news reports said Monday.

The victim's family has alleged that he died due to negligence by the hospital authorities.

The city's civic authorities, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has decided to open more clinics to combat the dreaded, often fatal, disease. Municipal Commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay has instructed the health department to include more malaria and dengue-prone areas under the civic scanner.

Though KMC has 141 wards in the city, the civic body has only 60 malaria clinics.

Besides opening new clinics, the civic authorities have decided to employ 40 doctors on contract for the next six months.

The civic body will also employ laboratory technicians in malaria and dengue-prone areas such as Jodhpur Park, Dhakuria, Lake Gardens and Anwar Shah Road, all in south Kolkata.

Dengue claimed 12 lives in the city during the last monsoon.

(Source: IANS)