Ahmedabad: Dengue death march kills 1 more

AHMEDABAD: Dengue has claimed one more young life in the city. Piyush Barot, in his late 20s, succumbed to the mosquito-borne viral fever on Monday at a private hospital in Memnagar.
Doctors said that Barot was admitted on October 4. The viral fever spread rapidly and his condition deteriorated. He developed dengue encephalopathy — severe swelling inside the brain — which led to his death, the attending doctor said.

Hospital authorities said that complications developed swiftly in Barot probably because he was suffering from an auto-immune disorder. Critical care doctors said that since dengue has hit the city viciously, people — including physicians — should be vigilant about the danger signs.
“Apart from the platelet count, the hematocrit levels should be closely monitored,” said a senior critical care specialist and the head of the medicine department at Civil Hospital, Dr Kamlesh Upadhyay. “Any drop in the circulating blood volume signifies dehydration and the patient can go into dengue shock syndrome,” Upadhyay said.
Dengue complications can prove fatal, said infectious diseases specialist at Sterling Hospital, Dr Atul Patel. “Patients should take fever in this season very seriously,” Patel said. “There are many patients who resist hospitalization even when warned of the danger.”