Chickenpox is showing a rising trend in Kolkata with “more than two thousand” cases reported in the past one year and “nine deaths” in January alone, but state health department officials said both the figures were “normal”, particularly the number of deaths for the ongoing season. According to well-placed sources with the state health department, more than two thousand people have been infected with chickenpox in the past one year while nine died in January. Sources said that all nine patients of chickenpox died at Infectious Diseases & Beliaghata General (ID&BG) Hospital, the state’s only referral hospital for infectious diseases. However, the number of chickenpox deaths in a year is still being investigated, said health department officials who remained tight-lipped when asked about the exact number of deaths due to chickenpox. “This is the time when we see chickenpox cases rising in Bengal. The beginning of the spring season is the time for a chickenpox outbreak. So, the current situation is very normal. As a few reports claimed too many deaths, we have asked officials concerned to evaluate the situation and the deaths caused by chickenpox. The team will submit a report to me. Public health officials are evaluating the situation. Chickenpox is normal in this season. The deaths are not as high as it is being claimed,” said Directorate of Health Services Dr Siddhartha Neogi. According to senior health department officials, seven people are currently admitted with symptoms of chickenpox at Beleghata ID hospital, while two of them are critical. “Seven people are currently admitted to the hospital with chickenpox symptoms. The situation is under control so far,” said Kaushik Choudhury, the Covid-19 nodal officer at ID and BG hospitals. Officials claimed that most of those who succumbed to the infection were battling with several comorbidities. Chickenpox, an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus, mostly affects children, and the chances of contracting the infection are high between January and June, said experts. “It is a highly contagious disease mainly caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which spreads in a similar way as cold and other flu. As the ongoing season is conducive for the virus to spread, it is better to be well-informed. The cases are definitely all-time high. Instead of waiting for the situation to deteriorate, like dengue, the government should be more alert,” said a senior doctor of a multispecialty government hospital. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the number of cases of measles and smallpox is increasing worldwide.
