THE family of Xavier College student Diksha Shreya Chand, who died because of dengue, is requesting the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to take necessary action to avoid any other student dying from the deadly disease.
The Year 12 student passed away on Sunday, March 30 days after contracting dengue.
This was the first dengue-related death involving a student at the school.
Diksha’s father Danny Vikash Chand said her daughter began to feel sick on Thursday, March 27 after returning from school.
“She had throat pain, and we took her to the hospital,” Mr Chand said.
“They gave her one pint of water and took out her blood (for testing).”
He said his daughter was cleared and sent home on the same day.
“They said her blood tests came back clear, and we could come back on Saturday for her review.
“Saturday night, she started to have stomach pain. So, at 12 midday I took her to the hospital again, then they checked her and gave her four pints of dripping.
“They told me that she had third-stage dengue, and she started to have organ failure. They also told me to prepare myself for any bad news.
“Then she passed away on Sunday.”
Mr Chand called on the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to survey the surroundings of the school in light of the increasing number of students getting sick.
“I miss her (Diksha) so much; from the day she passed away. We just don’t want this to happen to any other family.”
Independent Opposition member Parveen Kumar Bala said this incident was indicative of the Ministry of Health’s failure to address this issue at ground level when the dengue breakout in the Western Division was first announced.
“It is unfortunate that we have lost this young girl, but I just want to ask the Government that when they declared the Western Division dengue outbreak, what were the plans that they had?,” he said.
Questions sent to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services remained unanswered when this edition went to press last night.
