THE CITY has reportedly recorded six leptospirosis deaths since the monsoon began with 21 cases and two deaths confirmed by the health department in September. A 49-year-old man from Andheri (East) died on August 4, four days after he was hospitalised. Medical reports show that he was suffering from fever, chills and body ache since July 29. Two days later he was hospitalised after visiting two private doctors. His platelet count dropped to 16,000, requiring intensive care support. He suffered a respiratory failure along with multiorgan failure. In the second case, a 19-year-old girl died on July 22, four days after developing high fever. According to civic officials, she was taken to two private doctors and a private hospital before being moved to another hospital on July 21. By then, her platelet count had reduced and she succumbed to acute respiratory distress syndrome on July 22. So far, since June, 128 leptospirosis cases have been recorded in the city. Despite multiple instances of flooding, civic officials said the cases went down this month as compared to last year due to extensive preventive exercise. In 2018, 174 leptospirosis cases were recorded in the same period. The health department recorded a death due to H1N1 infection after a 68-year-old woman died in Andheri (East) on August 1. It was confirmed that her death was due to swine flu, following a panel meeting in September. Doctors said the senior citizen had self-medicated before her condition worsened. She also suffered from diabetes and hypertension. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also recorded 104 confirmed dengue cases and 1,536 suspected dengue infections so far this month.
