TNN | Sep 4, 2013, 03.42 AM IST
MUMBAI: Amid fears of a dengue outbreak in Goregaon's Shastri Nagar, a 47-year-old woman from adjoining Mitha Nagar succumbed to the viral infection on Tuesday.
Chhaya Naik became the third victim from the city to succumb to dengue, caused by aedes aegypti mosquitoes, in a month.
The civic body is yet to acknowledge the death though doctors from the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri confirmed Naik died of dengue shock syndrome and multi-organ dysfunction. She was admitted on Sunday with high fever, severe bodyache and a critically low platelet count.
Civic officials descended on Shastri Nagar on Tuesday to check the source of 50-odd suspected dengue cases reported from there. At least four hospitals and nursing homes claimed to have seen an unusually high number of cas-es in 30 days.
But civic officials said only seven cases could be detected from the area, of which six had tested positive in the rapid dengue test. The civic body does not consider it as a confirmatory test.
Additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said, "There are only seven dengue cases from the area, of which only one has come positive in the confirmatory test." Mumbai has recorded 185 cases of dengue since the onset of monsoon in June. The civic team found 12 breeding sites in Shastri Nagar. "All sites were in houses. Citizens are unaware about what aids breeding of mosquitoes. Flower pots, petri dishes and feng shui plants were common spots," she added.
They found breeding spots in houses of five out of seven patients.
Meanwhile, a 75-year-old woman from Saat Rasta, who is H1N1 influenza positive, was critical on Tuesday. She is undergoing treatment at Kasturba hospital since Saturday.