UP Govt suspends health officer, seals clinics of quack doctors amid dengue outbreak

According to government records, 57 people, mostly children, have so far died due to the diseases, while 404 people are still undergoing treatment in the medical college hospital here.

"As many as 120 new patients were admitted on Friday while 102 people were discharged after recovery," medical college principal Sangeeta Aneja said, adding that of the 195 tests done for dengue, 62 have been found positive.

Taking a strong view of the prevailing situation, the administration suspended Nagar Swasthya Adhikari with immediate effect for abstaining from duty without any prior information.

"Since September 3, the health officer has been abstaining from duty without any information and also during the recent visit of Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Education) Alok Kumar, he was not there," Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dinesh Kumar Premi said.

"The Director of Medical and Health Services, Ravinder Singh was asked to investigate the matter and on the basis of the report submitted on Thursday, the health officer has been suspended with immediate effect," he said.

Also Read: Officials Found Lax Amid Dengue Outbreak In Firozabad: CM Yogi Orders Action

With a view to ensure that all patients get proper medical treatment, District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh and City Magistrate Gulshan Kumar visited Humayunpur, Suhag Nagar and other localities of the city and requested the people not to get treatment from unauthorised doctors.

The clinics of eight quacks were sealed by the city magistrate, a spokesman said.

According to Aneja, the number of patients has come down following concerted efforts of the administration and the government and it is visible in the flow of patients in the medical college hospital.

On the directives of the government, S N Singh of KGMU, Lucknow has been camping in Firozabad since the past five days to ascertain the type of fever among the patients.

Talking to media, Singh said in the investigation so far, it has been found that the outbreak of viral fever and dengue was due to the abundance of mosquitoes in the region.

"The investigation is going on and only after reaching some conclusion, I will be able to say more," he said, adding that he will submit his report to the government.

In a related development, locals complained that medicines past their expiry dates were distributed by doctors at primary health centre at Dhanpura of Shikohabad tehsil on Tuesday.

Villagers also showed the expired medicines to the media following which CMO Premi said directives have been given to take action in the matter after investigation.

Prima facie, it has been found that the medicines were distributed by a physiotherapist Kumar on his own and an explanation has been sought from him. Further action will be taken after getting the clarification, he said.

Firozabad, around 50 km from Agra and 320 km from state capital Lucknow, has been battling the outbreak of dengue and deadly viral fever for the past three weeks now, with most of the victims being children.

Some cases have also been found in neighbouring Mathura, Agra and Mainpuri, according to officials.