19-year-old boy is city’s first dengue victim

The city reported its first dengue death this year on Wednesday when 19-year-old Shahid Sayyed, a resident of Govandi in Chembur, died at Sion Hospital after his condition aggravated owing to fever.

The victim was studying in class 12 at M. H. Saboo Siddik College in Byculla. He was suffering from high fever for the past few days, according to his uncle Zuber Sayyed.

“He was admitted to Sion Hospital since July 10 and was on ventilator at Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). The doctors who were treating him did not give us details about his condition except that he was suffering from dengue and that his platelets had dropped suddenly. Later, at 2 am on Wednesday, the doctors gave us the bad news about his death. We are totally shattered and our family is in a state of shock.”

Dr N.D Moulik, head of department of medicine, Sion Hospital, said, “The boy was suffering from dengue symptoms. We were trying our best to save him, but couldn’t do so. He came to us when his platelets were dangerously low and the count continued to fall even while he was being treated. He was already on ventilator in MICU. Later, he developed serious complications such as hemorrhagic fever, and stopped responding to our treatments. We declared him dead at 2 am.”

According to BMC, 14 persons with suspected dengue symptoms have been admitted in city hospitals. However, Shahid was the first dengue casualty to be reported in the city this year.