The Hindu : New Delhi News : 13 fresh cases of suspected meningitis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 10, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

13 fresh cases of suspected meningitis

L-G takes stock of the situation at high-level meeting

A CLOSE LOOK: Delhi Health Minister Yoganand Shastri at the special ward for meningitis patients at LNJP Hospital in New Delhi on Monday. — Photo: R. V. Moorthy

STAFF REPORTERNEW DELHI: STAFF REPORTERNEW DELHI: : While 13 fresh cases of suspected meningococcemia have been reported in the Capital since Sunday, taking the grand total to 187, the death toll has not risen from 15. In all, 47 patients have been discharged from various city hospitals so far.

The Lieutenant-Governor, B.L.Joshi, on Monday convened a high-level meeting where the Delhi Health Minister, heads of Central Government hospitals, officials of New Delhi Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Cantonment and National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) were also present. While expressing satisfaction over the way the State Health Department has handled the situation, Mr. Joshi instructed that cases being reported from outside Delhi should also be looked into immediately.

Later, the Delhi Health Minister, Yoganand Shastri, also inspected facilities at LNJP Hospital where the maximum number of patients have been admitted since the outbreak of the disease in the Capital. "Though the patients are being treated well and the isolation wards are very much there, attendants were seen to be lax in taking precautions and not wearing masks. This was pointed out to the hospital authorities,'' said Dr. Shastri.

Panic

Fourteen cases of meningococcemia have been reported from outside the Capital, including 10 cases from Uttar Pradesh, two from Gurgaon, and one case each from Bihar and Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, panic spread among the medical community on Monday after a nurse was admitted to Dr. Hegdwar Hospital and a doctor's 12-year-old daughter was admitted to Sanjeevan Hospital with symptoms of the deadly disease.

A worried Delhi Medical Association (DMA) has now appealed to all its members to be watchful regarding meningitis cases for the next one year. The DMA has also written to the both the Union and State governments to increase epidemiological surveillance and anticipate an outbreak of the disease again in a year from now. It also appealed to the Government to negotiate with Indian companies to make vaccine available at a cheaper price.

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