Anna University student died of scrub typhus, not dengue, confirms health department

The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has confirmed that scrub typhus, not dengue, caused the death of a 20-year-old Anna University student at Kilpauk Medical College Hospital (KMCH), dismissing reports of a dengue outbreak that had triggered panic across the campus.

The clarification came after social media platforms and television channels reported a dengue outbreak linked to three deaths, prompting scores of students to queue up for blood tests at the university health centre.

Student's medical timeline

The hostel resident arrived at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital in Guindy on Thursday (September 17, 2026) presenting with four days of high-grade fever. He was referred to KMCH the same day and died the following day. "Diagnosis: scrub typhus. No dengue diagnosis. It's a single reported case," the public health department stated in a post on X.

The student had first reported to the campus primary health centre with symptoms of fever and cold on September 14. Following protocol, a complete blood count (CBC) was conducted on the third day of fever, September 16. The CBC report recorded a platelet count of 1.38 lakh, which ruled out dengue, but the patient did not return to collect his report, a medical officer at the centre explained.

"I do not know what happened between then (September 16) and Friday. Besides, ours is only a primary health centre. We carry out blood tests and refer students as soon as they return with any findings," the doctor said.

Campus health situation

For the past 15 days, approximately 80 students had been visiting the health centre each morning and around 50 in the evenings with general presentations of fever and cold, the medical officer revealed.

In recent weeks, around five dengue cases have been detected on campus, the doctor confirmed. "The students were referred immediately. They have since recovered and have been discharged," he added.

Student response and expanded screening

The news of a suspected dengue outbreak triggered immediate alarm, with around 70 students arriving for screening at the health centre by midday on Saturday. University authorities said they had been working to allay fears and have expanded screening protocols to include scrub typhus and leptospirosis alongside dengue.

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has established a special screening camp specifically for hostel inmates, the medical officer informed.

Civic sanitation response

GCC Commissioner G.S. Sameeran personally inspected intensive sanitation and mosquito-control operations being carried out at the Anna University campus in Guindy. A total of 100 workers were deployed for sanitation operations, including removal of accumulated garbage and waste and implementation of mosquito-control measures, a press release said.

Dr. Sameeran reviewed the ongoing work and instructed officials to ensure that garden waste and garbage were cleared from the campus and the premises were kept clean, the release said. He also directed officials to prevent water stagnation to curb mosquito breeding and to carry out mosquito-control fogging operations.

Officials were further instructed to continuously monitor students and provide appropriate treatment wherever required, the release added.

Citywide directive

According to the release, Dr. Sameeran also instructed officials to undertake similar sanitation measures at all educational institutions across Chennai. He directed officials to conduct regular inspections and monitor the implementation of these measures, the release said.

Anna University Registrar V. Kumaresan, City Health Officer M. Jagadeesan, and other officials were present during the inspection, the release added.

The clarification and swift civic response aim to contain both the spread of vector-borne diseases and the misinformation that had gripped the campus community since the student's death.

Source: The Hindu