Pilibhit: After a spate of ‘fever’ deaths in Bareilly, Badaun and Lakhimpur Kheri, four such deaths in neighbouring Pilibhit in just 12 hours on Monday have jolted local residents. The victims include two minor boys. The district health department is on a high alert and all possible steps are being taken to prevent an epidemic-like situation.The first death was reported from Akhauli village under Bisalpur tehsil. An 11-year-old boy, Ashutosh, died around 2.30 am at the district government hospital. “The boy had been suffering from fever since September 10. He was first admitted to the community health centre in Bisalpur and later referred to the district hospital after his continued deteriorated,” said Hukum Singh, head of Akhauli village.The minor’s body was sent for an autopsy after his father, Badam Singh, alleged that his son died due to wrong treatment. Station house officer (SHO) of Pilibhit Kotwali, Kiran Pal Singh said, “An FIR will be registered in the matter after the postmortem report is received.”Sant Ram (55), a resident of Heerapur village and Sobharam (58) of Patel Nagar locality in Bisalpur city also died on the same day due to fever-related illness. Naresh Chandra, pradhan of Heerapur, said, “Sant Ram underwent treatment from a village doctor. Sobharam’s son, Gyanendra Kumar Kashyap, also said that his father was treated by a local physician.”Executive officer of Bisalpur municipal council, Ravi Shankar Shukla, said, “Both the patients sought treatment from private doctors. We got the information about their deaths only after their family members approached us.”The fourth death was reported from Pandari village under Pilibhit Sadar tehsil where a 17-year-old youth, Aman Maurya, died due to fever. His father, Rajendra Prasad, said, “My son was admitted to the Rohilkhand Medical College in Bareilly. He was brought home on Saturday but his condition suddenly deteriorated on Monday and he passed away.”Ishwari Prasad, husband of Pandari gram pradhan, Omwati, confirmed Maurya’s death.Additional chief medical officer, Dr CM Chaturvedi, said, “The health department has made all arrangements to test blood samples of people suffering from fever in all hospitals, community and the primary health centers across the district. We are also holding blood testing camps in villages.”“We have been maintaining stock of medicines and taking care of sanitation in both urban and rural areas. Spray of larvicides and repeated fogging are also being done,” he added.

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