A Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) physician who had treated several dengue patients himself succumbed to the disease at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi on Wednesday.

PMCH physician Dr Vinay Kumar, who was posted in the medicine department of the hospital and under whose watch many dengue patients had been admitted, died of complications arising from the mosquito-borne disease, confirmed doctors at the premier Patna hospital. He was in his fifties.

A senior doctor at the medicine department of PMCH, Dr V.P. Sinha, confirmed that Dr Vinay Kumar was admitted at PMCH on Monday night when his condition deteriorated owing to dengue fever.

“He was later referred to Ruban Memorial Hospital here on Tuesday and was further referred to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. He was taken there in an air ambulance but there was no improvement in his condition in Delhi. Dr Vinay Kumar breathed his last on Wednesday night at the Delhi hospital,” said Sinha.

Despite repeated attempts, PMCH medicine department head Dr M.P. Singh could not be contacted for comments.

While PMCH doctors claimed that Dr Vinay Kumar died of dengue, officials of the health department appeared clueless about the cause of death of the senior physician. “We have learnt that Dr Vinay was suffering from fever for the past five–six days. He was also taken to Ruban Memorial Hospital for treatment from where he was referred to the Delhi hospital. Only after his relatives come back from Delhi would we know his medical history and details of the disease which caused his death,” said state programme officer for vector-borne diseases, Dr M.P. Sharma.

The health department had earlier denied dengue as the reason of death of Ford Hospital anaesthetist Dr Vijay Kumar and district programme officer of Integrated Child Development Services, Sangeeta Kumari, both of whom died in October. While relatives of both Dr Vijay and Sangeeta Kumari claimed that they died due to the mosquito-borne disease, the health authorities refuted this.

Till Friday, a total of 1,218 confirmed cases of dengue and 152 cases of chikungunya have been reported from Bihar in addition to 752 suspected cases of dengue. As many as 818 confirmed cases of dengue and 683 suspected dengue cases have been reported from the state capital alone in addition to 104 confirmed cases of chikungunya.

“Cases of dengue and chikungunya are likely to come down with the onset of winter because the mosquito goes into hibernation in this period,” added Sharma, the programme officer for vector-borne diseases.