Date:05/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120560340400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Suspected dengue victim

Special Correspondent

TAMBARAM: A 31-year-old woman died at a private hospital in Tambaram on Wednesday night, reportedly due to “suspected dengue.”

Doctors at the private hospital said Sumathi of New Colony in Chromepet was brought to their hospital’s branch on Rajendra Prasad Road near Kumaran Kundram, Chromepet, on Wednesday morning as she was suffering from fever for three days.

Sumathi had low pulse levels and was referred to the main hospital in Tambaram around 7.30 p.m. to be put on life support equipment.

Doctors at the Tambaram hospital said that the woman died around 10.30 p.m. Judging by the results of a scan that showed liver and gall bladder enlargement and blood parameters, they said the death was caused by suspected dengue.

The report issued by the hospital to her relatives said the death was due to ‘cardiorespiratory arrest following "(?)" - indicating suspected - dengue shock.’

Doctors at Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital (Chromepet) GH said that no case of suspected dengue either of children below 12 years of age or above was reported so far. Officials at the Saidapet Health Unit District said that they had been conducting tests of random samples among people suffering from fever and living in Pallavaram and Alandur Municipalities ever since the monsoon set it.

But so far, they had not come across a few cases of leptospirosis and nothing else. They added ordinary dengue fever could not cause death to adults.