It will not be a fun-filled New Year celebration for 525 resident doctors at the BYL Nair Hospital as their 25-year-old colleague Sumedh Pazare died of dengue on Tuesday morning. A first-year resident doctor, Pazare was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) for two days.

“We are yet to come to terms with his death. The resident doctors have unanimously decided that they will not celebrate the New Year,” said Dr Manish Kokane, president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) at Nair Hospital.

The MARD representatives have met dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal and expressed their concern over the health of resident doctors.

“Dr Bharmal immediately asked for pest control to be done at the hospital premises, especially in the hostel area,” said Dr Kokane.

According to the hospital staff, Pazare, a resident of Chandrapur, had sickle cell anemia (a genetic blood disorder in which red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body, develop abnormally).

“Pazare was admitted for fever. During investigation, we found that he had dengue and sickle cell anaemia in which patient tend to bleed. His condition deteriorated fast,” said Dr Bharmal.

According to the health department of BMC, there have been 925 positive dengue cases and eleven deaths in 2013. In 2012, there were 1,008 dengue positive cases and five deaths. Dr Mangala Gomare, head of the epidemiology department of BMC, said, “Dr Pazare is a suspected dengue death. We will submit his report soon after which we can say whether it was the 12th dengue death the city or not.”

The BMC is having a tough time in dealing with the health of resident doctors working in its hospitals. Earlier, a 24-year-old doctor in Sion Hospital lost her battle to multi-drug resistant tuberculosis of the brain on Doctor’s Day (July 1).