6-year-old dies of dengue in Goa

PANAJI - A six-year-old boy died of dengue in the popular tourist stretch of Calangute in Goa, an official said Friday.

Deepak Kababi, official in charge of the vector borne diseases cell in the state Directorate of Health Services (DHS), said this was the first dengue death of the year.

“It is a clinical case of the dengue shock syndrome. The boy was admitted to a private clinic after he was suffering from fever, vomiting and acute pain in the abdomen. After he was diagnosed for dengue he was shifted to the Goa Medical College where he died on Thursday,” Kabadi told IANS.

“The rapid test has indicated dengue, but we have sent the samples for a MAC Elisa test which is a lot more reliable. The results are expected,” Kabadi said.

The official further said nearly 50 dengue cases have been reported in the state till date.

The dengue death in Calangute, which is the nerve centre of coastal tourism in Goa, could be a cause for worry, though health department officials claim that dengue is under control in the state.

“We are doing our best to monitor the situation. One death is not reason to worry. Our DHS are working actively to ensure that the disease does not spread,” a health department official said.

The tourist season that begins in Goa from October sees nearly two million tourists visiting the state. A large chunk of them live near the Calangute beach stretch.

–Indo Asian News Service