Dengue Fever Stings Hollywood Team Member in Bhopal

Dengue mosquitoes have infected a member of a Hollywood production team who is in Madhya Pradesh for the shooting of a multi-million dollar Hollywood web series. Dengue fever is spread by the bite of female mosquito Aedes aegypti. These diseases spreading mosquitoes bite during early morning and in the evening before dusk. Dengue mosquitoes breed in clean, stagnant water.

A super specialty private hospital in Madhya Pradesh has confirmed an important member of the production team has tested positive for dengue, The Times of India reported.

A senior doctor at the private hospital said that after the member was tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease, core team members, including foreign nationals, have also been tested for dengue.

The report says that since the past few weeks, Paramount Pictures is in Bhopal, producing a project for Apple TV. Almost 1,000 people have tested positive for dengue so far this year in Bhopal. Most of the dengue cases were reported in the last three months.

Sources to the daily said that ahead of arrival of the crew for the scheduled shoot, air, soil as well as water test were independently conducted. The report said that Paramount Production member has confirmed about one of their teammates being diagnosed for dengue.

The crew members were rushed to a private hospital from a hotel where they were lodging, after they showed symptoms of dengue fever. The daily said that one of the crew members, a foreign national, was undergoing treatment in the hospital for two days.

Sources to the daily confirmed that the patient was tested positive for dengue through ELISA test, which is accepted by the Centre. The patient was discharged after being cleared by internal medicine department of the hospital, the report said.

Madhya Pradesh Health Department officials on the other hand said that they were unaware of the situation. “Dengue detected via rapid test kit can be a false alarm,” Bhopal district malaria officer, Dr Akhilesh Dubey said.

The cast for the upcoming a drama series by Apple is expected to include Bollywood actress Radhika Apte alongside Richard Roxburg. The cast will be led by Charlie Hunnam. Australian producer Justin Kurzel is expected to direct the first two installments of Shantaram which is likely to span across ten episodes, the report said.