At a time when Delhi is reeling under dengue and chikungunya outbreaks, a patient died of malaria at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday. This is the first such death due to malaria in the national Capital since 2012. Thirty-year-old Parveen Sharma, a resident of Mandawali succumbed to severe multi-organ failure triggered by malaria complications.
The family member initially took the patient to the Max Hospital (Patparganj), where he was diagnosed with malaria and admitted for a week. The family members then took the patient to Safdarjung Hospital after his condition deteriorated. The patient died despite the best efforts of the doctors, who said "his condition was highly critical and he could not be saved".
Talking to The Pioneer, Ranjan Sharma, deceased's younger brother alleged medical negligence on the part of Max Hospital which at first denied admission at the hospital. "We insisted the hospital to admit my brother even as Max Hospital was reluctant to admit him at first. For the past one week, he was getting treatment for malaria, but his condition worsened each day. He was admitted with 102-degree fever but later the temperature shot up to 107 degrees, which hospital authorities did not inform us. Concerned over his falling condition, we were forced to get the second opinion at Safdarjung Hospital," he said, adding they had paid Rs6 lakh for the treatment at Max Hospital.
Safdarjung Hospital spokesperson Poonam Dhanda said that the patient was admitted to hospital on September 2 in a critical condition. He was taken to ICU. He died on September 4. "The patient had suffered cardiac arrest at Max Hospital and when he revived, he was sent to Safdarjung Hospital. He was on ventilator and suffered organ failure too," said Dhanda.
Praveen was married three years ago and is survived by his wife and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Neena Valecha, Director and Scientist at the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) told The Pioneer, "I verified with the Max Hospital, it was a case of cerebral malaria (A Plasmodium vivax). Parasite vivax malaria can lead to severe disease and death. P. vivax is carried by the female anopheles mosquito, since it is only the female of the species that bite."
"However, in Delhi, cases of malaria are rarely reported. Mostly, it is found in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and the North East. Since monsoon is a transmission season for the spread of the diseases, the parasite could have come from other States," she added.
According to website of National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), no death has occurred due to malaria in Delhi in five years from 2012 till July. At least 19 malaria cases have been reported in Delhi this season till September 3, according to civic bodies.
Meanwhile in a Press statement, Max Hospital claimed, "During the time of admitting, he (Praveen) was suffering from high temperature with chills, vomiting, difficulty in breathing and came in an unconscious state. "Upon examination by emergency doctors, he was diagnosed as suffering from cerebral malaria and sepsis. The patient was immediately intubated and put on ventilator support."
The hospital further said Praveen's condition was "monitored closely by leading experts" and he was provided "treatment as per standard protocols" and further claimed the patient was discharged from Max Hospital on September 2, after his attendants "insisted on shifting" him to another hospital.