Girl dies of ‘dengue’ in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: A girl studying in the first year died apparently of dengue as the Health Department dispatched 36 suspected case of this deadly disease to National Institute of Health (NHA) in Islamabad for confirmation in recent weeks.

“The platelets of deceased girl dropped drastically but her initial reports about dengue were negative,” Dr Nasir Shah, Deputy District Health Officer told reporters on Wednesday.

The parents of the girl told reporters that she died after being infected with the dengue virus as her platelets dropped alarmingly.

According to them, she was taken to Rawalpindi for treatment where she died. Nasir Shah said the Health Department had initiated an investigation to determine the cause of her death.

“Our preliminary investigation has revealed that her platelets drastically dropped a week ago, but she died at a hospital in Rawalpindi,” he said. The official said his department had dispatched 36 suspected cases of dengue virus to the NIH for investigation.“We have sent the samples of the suspected dengue cases to NIH for confirmation but the patients have been discharged from the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital,” he said.