Mangalore: Fast-spreading Dengue Creates Panic among Populace

from Divvy Kant Upadhyay
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (GA)

Mangalore, Jul 2: Dengue is considered the most common mosquito-borne viral disease of humans which has become a major international public health concern in recent years. It has been globally reported that most urban areas in the tropical climate region have exhibited hyperendmicity in relation to Dengue.

Recently 27 people tested positive for Dengue in the DK district and adding all figures since May the number crosses 50. But physicians and microbiologists would agree that the actual number of cases could be much higher as results reported by private labs may not necessarily reach the final list declared by the district health authorities.

Dengue isn’t new to this area. The department of medicine at Kastutba Medical college in Mangalore had reported the dengue outbreak in the district 16 years ago. The paper which was published in the Southeast Asian Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1995 said that an epidemic of an illness with main features of high fever and bleeding episodes occurred in certain parts of Mangalore city in last week of July 1993. The epidemic reached its peak by mid-August and then started declining. Sporadic cases, however, continued to occur till early December. About 200 cases were reported covering all age groups and both sexes.

Since this epidemic, it is generally accepted that till the year 2000, Dengue did not show up in a significant form. But since 2000, doctors have noticed a cyclical occurrence. This year too, the pattern seems similar. With weak monsoons and intermittent rains, stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes in June. Peaks of Dengue cases are noticed in the months of June, early July and then mid or late August.

In most cases clinical diagnosis of Dengue is supported by a virological test. The human body’s defence mechanism produces antibodies to fight pathogens that cause infection. In the case of Dengue too, specific IgM antibodies are produced by the body. The ‘tests’ that are sent to ‘labs’ in Dengue suspected cases are to detect these dengue-specific IgM antibodies. Their presence in the blood indicates Dengue infection.

Transmitted by the Aedes aegytpi mosquito, there are four distinct, but closely related sub-types of the virus that causes dengue (In the 1993 outbreak five strains of dengue (DEN-2) virus were recovered from the blood tests done on patients). Recovery from infection by one provides lifelong immunity against that sub-type but confers only partial and transient protection against subsequent infection by the other three. There is good evidence that sequential infection increases the risk of more serious disease resulting in Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever – a fatal condition requiring emergency transfusion of platelets.

It is believed that Chikungunya fever is also spread by the bite of the mosquito that is responsible for spreading Dengue. According to Virologist at KMC Manipal, Dr Arun Kumar, interestingly it has been noticed that dengue cases are not seen when Chikungunya cases are on the rise and perhaps even the vice-versa may hold true. He feels a lot of cases are annually reported from areas like Shimoga, Davangare, Sullia, Puttur and Mangalore.

Currently vector control promoting behavioral change at individual, household and community levels to improve prevention and control is the key to stop Dengue from spreading. District Health authorities and the public themselves may have to implement strict vector-control programs to stop mosquitoes from breeding. Most common places that have to be checked are water tanks, water coolers, flower and small plant pots in and around the household, empty coconut shells and garbage dump-yards. Dengue is generally treated symptomatically and there is no proven medicinal cure. Doctors believe drugs like Aspirin and Brufen, used for pain relief are to be avoided as they could complicate the case.

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Dengue infected patients generally present with fever, muscular and joint pain across the body and headache. Small bleeding spots in the mouth, magenta coloured tongue with central coating, skin rash and facial flush maybe observed as classical signs.