Ghaziabad: At least 51 people, the youngest of whom is a 7-month-old girl, are suspected to have died of heat-related illnesses over three days, doctors at the district hospital said on Thursday.
Added to the 14 deaths reported by the district hospital in Noida this week and 32 deaths in 36 hours in Delhi, possibly caused by the heat, the figures indicate the human toll of the heat wave. Which Delhi-NCR has been in grip since May. .
Of the 51 deaths, 18 were recorded in inpatients and the rest were those who were brought dead to the city's MMG District Hospital.
Most patients were treated for high fever, dehydration, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea — all symptoms of heat exhaustion. “They were brought by pedestrians, relatives or the police. Many of them were found unconscious on the roadsides,” said a doctor at the hospital.
Another Dr. Santaram Verma said most of the patients who died were labourers, road workers or open-air workers. “They ranged in age from 15 to 80. Many of the bodies are yet to be identified because they were found by the police or pedestrians,” he said.
The district administration said that 28 bodies have been sent for post-mortem. Additional Chief Medical Officer, Ghaziabad, Dr RK Gupta said, “All deaths are suspected to be due to heat stroke. So far, nothing has been confirmed yet.”
Much of northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, is witnessing one of the hottest summers in decades. Temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for 39 consecutive days.
As of Wednesday, MMG Hospital had admitted 261 patients suffering from heat-related illnesses.
Seven-month-old Anaya, who was brought to MMG Hospital by her family – residents of Lal Kuan – on Thursday, was among the two suspected heat stroke deaths. The second was Sahibabad's Gita (42).
Rakesh Kumar, Chief Medical Superintendent, MMG District Hospital, said, “The child was brought dead by her father to the hospital. We also registered a case of death of a 7-year-old girl from Ghaziabad earlier in the week. was.”
Other suspected cases include Jai Prakash, a 65-year-old man from Bihar's Monger, who fainted and showed symptoms of high blood pressure, officials said. The other dead were city residents: Kanej (40, Vijayanagar), Bhushan Sharma (52, Indira Colony), Gulab (30, Meerut Road), Nand Kishore (60), Hemanti Devi (51) and Prahlad Gupta (35, Goshala). gate).
TOI reported on Wednesday that emergency departments and OPDs in NCR have seen a rise in patients suffering from heat-related illnesses.
A third doctor at MMG Hospital said they were almost out of beds in the emergency ward till Wednesday, but the situation improved slightly as the temperature dropped on Thursday.
Although there is a set of guidelines for confirming heat-related deaths, medically confirming such deaths can be difficult.
According to government criteria, a person has died of heat stroke when heat directly causes death or when a pre-existing condition is exacerbated by heat stress. If not confirmed by an autopsy, a heat stroke death may be declared if authorities have information about other conditions such as ambient temperature and heat exposure at the time the person was ill.
Dr Amit Vikram, who is also an additional CMO, said that the health department and the district hospital have formed a committee to investigate the deaths due to heat stroke.
“Based on the post-mortem reports, further decisions will be taken. In the last few days, at least 28 bodies were sent for post-mortem. Normally, the number remains less than ten in the district,” he said.
Added to the 14 deaths reported by the district hospital in Noida this week and 32 deaths in 36 hours in Delhi, possibly caused by the heat, the figures indicate the human toll of the heat wave. Which Delhi-NCR has been in grip since May. .
Of the 51 deaths, 18 were recorded in inpatients and the rest were those who were brought dead to the city's MMG District Hospital.
Most patients were treated for high fever, dehydration, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea — all symptoms of heat exhaustion. “They were brought by pedestrians, relatives or the police. Many of them were found unconscious on the roadsides,” said a doctor at the hospital.
Another Dr. Santaram Verma said most of the patients who died were labourers, road workers or open-air workers. “They ranged in age from 15 to 80. Many of the bodies are yet to be identified because they were found by the police or pedestrians,” he said.
The district administration said that 28 bodies have been sent for post-mortem. Additional Chief Medical Officer, Ghaziabad, Dr RK Gupta said, “All deaths are suspected to be due to heat stroke. So far, nothing has been confirmed yet.”
Much of northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, is witnessing one of the hottest summers in decades. Temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for 39 consecutive days.
As of Wednesday, MMG Hospital had admitted 261 patients suffering from heat-related illnesses.
Seven-month-old Anaya, who was brought to MMG Hospital by her family – residents of Lal Kuan – on Thursday, was among the two suspected heat stroke deaths. The second was Sahibabad's Gita (42).
Rakesh Kumar, Chief Medical Superintendent, MMG District Hospital, said, “The child was brought dead by her father to the hospital. We also registered a case of death of a 7-year-old girl from Ghaziabad earlier in the week. was.”
Other suspected cases include Jai Prakash, a 65-year-old man from Bihar's Monger, who fainted and showed symptoms of high blood pressure, officials said. The other dead were city residents: Kanej (40, Vijayanagar), Bhushan Sharma (52, Indira Colony), Gulab (30, Meerut Road), Nand Kishore (60), Hemanti Devi (51) and Prahlad Gupta (35, Goshala). gate).
TOI reported on Wednesday that emergency departments and OPDs in NCR have seen a rise in patients suffering from heat-related illnesses.
A third doctor at MMG Hospital said they were almost out of beds in the emergency ward till Wednesday, but the situation improved slightly as the temperature dropped on Thursday.
Although there is a set of guidelines for confirming heat-related deaths, medically confirming such deaths can be difficult.
According to government criteria, a person has died of heat stroke when heat directly causes death or when a pre-existing condition is exacerbated by heat stress. If not confirmed by an autopsy, a heat stroke death may be declared if authorities have information about other conditions such as ambient temperature and heat exposure at the time the person was ill.
Dr Amit Vikram, who is also an additional CMO, said that the health department and the district hospital have formed a committee to investigate the deaths due to heat stroke.
“Based on the post-mortem reports, further decisions will be taken. In the last few days, at least 28 bodies were sent for post-mortem. Normally, the number remains less than ten in the district,” he said.