(Top)Aparna Sahni, whose mother-in-law Jhumri died of malaria, is showing similar symptoms; (above) Jharna Mandal, who died before her blood test results came in. Pictures by Sanat Kumar Sinha and Aranya Sen

Two more deaths on Wednesday took the toll for mosquito-borne diseases in the city to 14. While 67-year-old Jhumri Sahni died of malaria, the test result for Jharna Mandal, 26, is not yet known. She showed symptoms similar to those of dengue.

Alarmed at the rapid spread of vector-borne diseases, senior officials of the state health department and the Calcutta Municipal Commission (CMC) went into a huddle on Wednesday to review the situation.

“The CMC has been directed to add another 53 malaria clinics to the 88 already operating, for its 141 wards,” a health department official said.

Jharna Mandal, who lived in a shanty in Thakurpukur’s Netaji Pally, had fever and rashes from Saturday. She was admitted to Vidyasagar State General Hospital on Tuesday. She was put on drip and a blood test was conducted on Tuesday night.

But her condition worsened overnight and before the results arrived, she died on Wednesday at 7.20am.

“Early in the morning, her hands and feet became very cold and she vomited blood. The nurses gave her two injections, but she couldn’t be saved,” wailed her mother.

The death certificate issued by the hospital, however, cited “cardiac failure” as the cause of Jharna’s death.

The other victim, Jhumri, lived in a shanty on Maniktala Main Road near the Kankurgachhi crossing. She had fever since Saturday and her 25-year-old daughter-in-law Aparna is showing similar symptoms since Sunday.

A malaria test conducted at a CMC clinic at Rajabazar on Monday showed negative results for both Jhumri and Aparna. They were given medicines for fever, headache and diarrhoea.

Jhumri’s condition deteriorated on Tuesday and she was admitted to Medical College and Hospital. Hospital sources confirmed that her blood sample tested positive for malaria on Tuesday night. She died at 4.35am on Wednesday.

The death certificate issued by the hospital stated “acute clinical malaria with hypo-glycaemia” as the cause of death.