Mumbai: City reports 10th measles death of 1-yr-old

Mumbai: A one-year-old child from Nallasopara succumbed to acute respiratory failure after measles and bronchopneumonia on Nov 21. The child was admitted to a private hospital after a month of suffering from cough and fever.

On Nov 17, the Free Press Journal had reported that the child’s family tried to treat him by fanning with neem leaves and by making religious offerings. When the child landed with complications in the hospital, his parents had regretted not getting him vaccinated against measles and mumps.

With this, the total number of confirmed measles deaths across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has risen to 10, of which eight are from Mumbai.

A doctor said the child who died on Nov 21 was not vaccinated as the family believed that he would fall sick after immunisation. He had developed a maculopapular rash over his face, following which he was admitted to a private hospital and later transferred to Kasturba Hospital, where he was detected with bronchopneumonia. The child was shifted to ICU but his oxygen saturation continued to drop. He developed respiratory failure and was put on a ventilator. On Monday night, his condition deteriorated and he succumbed a few hours later.

According to the BMC’s health department, the total number of confirmed cases of measles in the city has risen to 220. Most of the cases (51) have been reported in the M-East ward (Govandi, Mankhurd), followed by L-ward (Kurla) with 29 cases, E-ward (Byculla) with six cases, F-North ward with 14, G-North (Dadar) with five cases, G-South (Worli) with three cases, K-East (Andheri East) with three cases, M-West (Chembur) with nine, P-North (Malad) at five, and H-East (Bandra) at 11confirmed cases. Across all wards, there have been 21 outbreaks, of which 220 are confirmed cases and 3,378 are suspected cases.