Dengue fever outbreak in Commonwealth village
There is more trouble brewing for the officials of the Delhi Commonwealth Games as reports of Dengue fever arise in the athletes’ village.
A member of the Indian lawn bowling team, Ruptu Gogoi has been admitted to hospital just hours before the event's opening ceremony after contracting the viral disease.
Senior hospital doctor Rajiv Sagar noted that Gogoi was in a stable condition and would be released shortly, however, “He probably caught dengue before entering the village as he was already feeling some symptoms before he arrived there.”
Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, can be extremely painful and is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. It occurs mostly in the tropics and it is estimated that there are 50 million cases of infection worldwide every year. In the worst
cases the disease can be fatal.
Indian officials have known that there was a risk of Dengue spreading to the athletes during this year's games. Seven Delhi residents have already died of the fever this year but the number of infected cases is estimated at over 3,500.
Organisers had tried a number of methods to quell the spread of the disease before the games began, including using Gambusia or mosquito fish, which are believed to be able to control mosquito populations by feasting on the larvae. This has been proven to
be a misconception by scientists.
It is believed the worst is still to come with the World Health Organisation predicting that the cases of Dengue will reach a peak in the coming month.
The Delhi games' organizers have been plagued with a series of embarrassing events in the run up to the opening ceremony. In late September a footbridge to the main stadium collapsed injuring 23 workers. A day later, ceiling tiles in the weightlifting venue
collapsed. Concerns were then raised over the hygiene standards in the athletes’ village, which led to objections from several teams and the Commonwealth Games Federation itself, which described the village as “filthy”.
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