Lucknow: As an ‘intense’ viral fever is recorded to be behind multiple deaths reported in parts of western Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday urged the Yogi-led state government to take steps to prevent the spread of the fever and make adequate arrangements for medical treatment of those affected.
Priyanka Gandhi said the news of death of many people, including children, due to fever in Firozabad, Mathura, Agra and other places of Uttar Pradesh, is saddening.
“The Uttar Pradesh government should at once make efforts to stop the spread of this disease with the help of an alert health system. Arrangements should also be made for better treatment of the people affected by the disease,” the Congress general secretary said in a tweet in Hindi.
The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration had last week raised an alert about “viral fever” and directed health workers to particularly take note of people running a temperature.
Some western UP districts have witnessed a spike in cases of “viral fever” in recent days also leading to fatalities in some cases, according to reports.
Over the past week, at least 68 people in Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Mainpuri, Etah and Kasganj districts have died after reporting high fever, dehydration and a sudden drop in platelet count, health department officials confirmed. Of those who died, 46 were children. With recovery time stretching on for up to 12 days, government hospitals are scrounging for beds.