Two children of a family died of suspected chickenpox at Nalwar village of Kalaburagi and five others, including three from the deceased's family, showed symptoms on Sunday and Monday. They have been admitted to hospitals.
According to the family members of the deceased, while Imran Patel (13) died due to chickenpox on January 17, his elder brother Rehman Patel (15) passed away due to the same virus on January 31. Black marks were seen on the bodies of the deceased. They died despite being taken to hospitals for treatment, they told.
Afeeza Begum, mother of the deceased, another two children Araman (6) and Nafeeza Begum from the same family have developed similar symptoms. They have been admitted to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences.
Pratiksha (11) and Lakshmi (2), residents of an area near Government Urdu school, too are showing symptoms of chickenpox.
Chittapur Taluk Medical Officer Dr Amardeep Pawar said chickenpox is not a dreaded virus. The deceased children were admitted to a private hospital in Solapur for treatment and they died in the hospital. The medical reports of the hospital claimed that they died of chickenpox. But, the blood samples report has not yet come from the laboratory. The cause for death will be known only after the report comes, he clarified.
District Health Officer Dr Sharanabasappa Ganajalkhed said the two children died of suspected chickenpox and five others are showing symptoms. There are 260 houses in the village and a door-to-door survey has been conducted by sending a team of medical staff. Blood samples of five patients have been sent to the Virology Institute in Bengaluru and the report is awaited, he explained.