Cuttack, Aug. 26: The state reported the season's third dengue death when a 32-year-old man from Keonjhar died of the mosquito-borne disease in the early hours today.

Official reports said Sanatan Nayak of Patana in Keonjhar district died at SCB Medical College and Hospital in the city around 2.30am. He had been undergoing treatment at the state-run premier hospital since August 12.

Nayak, a daily wage earner, had been admitted to the hospital with symptoms such as fluctuating fever and vomiting. After tests, doctors had confirmed that he had been afflicted with dengue.

"He was a diabetic and later shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Unfortunately, his kidney and liver were damaged, and he died today," said Dr Sriprasad Mohanty, assistant nodal officer for treatment dengue cases at the hospital.

On August 9, the state reported its first dengue death when 45-year-old Som Prakash Mishra of Bihar's Chhapra district died at the hospital. He worked with a private organisation in Paradip.

On August 12, Harihar Mallick, a 35-year-old daily wage earner from Basudevpur in Bhadrak, died of dengue at the hospital. The first dengue case in Cuttack was reported from Ranihat in the first week of July. Till now, the hospital has witnessed 320 dengue cases this season. Of them, 45 have been admitted during the past three days after they underwent blood tests and tested positive for the disease.

"The patients suffering from dengue are being provided with free-of-cost blood tests and emergency treatment," Dr Mohanty said. "Patients with suspected dengue symptoms at the casualty and outdoor departments are being thoroughly checked and admitted without delay."

Last year, 11 people died after while being treated for dengue at SCB. Anticipating a rise in the number of cases following this year's rains, the hospital has come up with special wards to treat the dengue patients. While the wards have a 62-bed capacity, 45 patients are at present undergoing treatment. A total of 275 patients have been discharged so far.

"While 41 patients are in the dengue ward, four patients have been shifted to the central ICU," Dr Mohanty said.

Official records indicate that dengue has already spread to 20 districts. Of the 320 cases reported so far this season at the SCB, 274 were from Bhadrak, Balasore, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jajpur, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj. The maximum number of dengue cases have been reported from Bhadrak (74), and Cuttack (64). Patients have also come from Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Dhen-kanal and Ganjam and neighbouring states of Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.