Pune hospitals report rise in dengue cases after monsoon arrives early
Between Jan and July 2, this year, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) reported 264 suspected and 12 confirmed dengue cases. In June alone, there were 123 suspected cases and four confirmed cases (see box). The city also reported ten chikungunya cases for the same period.
The highest dengue cases were from Aundh-Baner ward (43), followed by Nagar Road-Wadgaon Sheri ward (40) and Dhankawdi-Sahakarnagar ward which reported 26 cases.
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Stagnating rainwater pools across the city are breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes that cause both diseases. Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health officer in PMC, said they began fogging and spraying of mosquito repellents early wherever a case was notified from any area.
He added, "We have collected fines of Rs 1.58 lakh so far from people storing water where mosquitoes were breeding and issued more than 1,200 notices.
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Citizens must diligently follow the once-a-week dry day system which is most effective in controlling the breeding of mosquitoes. We have not reported any positive Zika or Japanese encephalitis case this year so far."
Six private hospitals that TOI spoke to said that they are reporting a spike in dengue cases.
Dr Arvind Patil, internal medicine specialist at Apollo Clinic, said they have noticed more than 20-30 children visiting the clinic for either viral fever or gastrointestinal issues in the past few weeks.
"It is a 10% jump in the number of cases reported around this time as compared to the previous year."
The uptick in cases has also led to a rise in admissions in some hospitals. Dr Mahendra Dadke, consultant of internal medicine at Jupiter Hospital, said there is a significant rise in patients with high-grade fever, severe body aches, headaches, retro-orbital pain, rashes, and in some cases, low platelet counts.
"Hospitalizations have also gone up, especially in cases where platelet levels drop drastically or warning signs like abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, and lethargy are observed," he said.
He added that there is a rise in dengue cases among children who are more vulnerable to complications like dehydration and bleeding.
Inamdar Hospital has reported 14 dengue cases in the first week of June diagnosed with NS1 antigen test. "More kids are down with dengue as they play outside in the evening when Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are most active," consultant physician Dr Rekha Sharma said.
Apollo Spectra's internal medicine expert Dr Aditya Deshmukh said, there is a 20% surge in dengue cases this June as compared to last year.
"Patients are of all ages, and they are reporting symptoms such as high fever, severe body aches, headaches, nausea, and rashes. However, there have been no dengue-related deaths," he added.
Dr Abhimanyu Sengupta, senior consultant in general paediatrics at Ankura Hospital for Women & Children, noticed a relatively early rise in dengue cases this year as compared to previous years, and children between 5-12 seem to be affected more.
Why are 'suspected cases' more in number?
There are two dengue tests in prevalence
A central government notification mandates that results from IgM ELISA tests and NS1-ELISA tests be considered as confirmed dengue cases
Patients who undergo the non-ELISA NS1 antigen test are suspected cases
This variation leads to the low number of confirmed cases on govt records
Deaths of those who underwent the antigen test are not recorded either
Private hospitals mostly use the NS1 antigen test which give results in two to three days
The gold-standard Elisa test takes seven to eight days after the onset of symptoms
The quicker antigen test has poor sensitivity and specificity and hence patients administered this test are considered "suspected cases", experts said
There is a 30-35% increase in dengue and fever cases this June compared to the last year. Usually, we see a rise cases about 15-20 days after the rains start. The early monsoon led to early stagnation of water where mosquitoes that spread dengue breed. Hence there are so many cases this June. Many patients this year reported fatigue, malaise, and lethargy, rather than the typical fever, rash, and joint pain usually associated with dengue.
We are also seeing a significant increase in hospitalizations due to dehydration and low platelet count
Dr Rizwan Malik I General physician at Medicover Hospital
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