175 die as dengue, H1N1 grips Kerala

The outbreak of fever and epidemics, triggered by the monsoon, has claimed 175 lives in Kerala over the past five months. 

As many as 74 fever victims have succumbed to either H1N1 influenza, dengue and chicken pox. 

Koorachundu grama panchayat in Kozhikode district is the worst affected with thousands of people seeking medical aid every day. It is suspected that above half the people are affected with dengue and seven deaths were reported from the area. 

As many as 50 persons had died of H1N1 while 11 persons succumbed to dengue. There are doubts that dengue led to the death of 32 persons who had sought medical help. On Wednesday, four deaths, one each from Kollam, Kottayam, Palakkad and Malappuram were reported, and it is suspected that the persons had dengue. 

11.26 lakh persons were hit by fever since January, and of them, 6468 were confirmed to have dengue. Of the, 21443 are believed to be affected with dengue while 741 persons had H1N1. 

Reports state that 19,179 persons sought medical help on Wednesday alone. Of them, 561 have dengue while 128 cases were confirmed. More cases are reported from Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram. In Kottayam, ten persons were confirmed to have dengue. Two deaths were reported from Idukki, and of that one was due to H1N1. As many as 11,018 persons sought medical help, and of them 311 had dengue, and 36 individuals had H1N1. 

• Fever
• Dengue
• Kerala fever
• H1N1