Mumbai: A 21-year-old BSc nursing student of state-run Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital in Byculla died on Monday following complications of malaria.The student lived in a hostel within the JJ complex, leading the hospital administration to undertake repeated fumigation and cleanliness drives to check mosquito breeding spots.Two resident doctors living on the campus have been admitted to hospital with complications of dengue, another mosquito-borne infection.JJ Hospital dean Ajay Bhandarwar said the nursing student was admitted on Oct 9 after developing hyperpyrexia, or an extremely high fever, while undergoing treatment for malaria. “His temperature was over 107 degrees Fahrenheit, leading to further complications. He was admitted to the medical ICU, and we made every effort to save him,” he said.The student, who hailed from Parbhani district, was in the third semester of the nursing course. Students have claimed that several hostel residents have suffered from malaria and dengue this year, raising concerns about sanitation and mosquito breeding on the campus.Mumbai has recorded two malaria deaths this monsoon, with close to 10,000 cases so far this year.“There have been more malaria cases this year compared with last year,” said BMC executive health officer Shailesh Gaikwad. An increase in infrastructure work across the city is being blamed for water accumulation, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes that transmit malaria.“Whether a death was caused by malaria or dengue can be determined only by the BMC death committee after reviewing the medical records,” Gaikwad said.
