DENGUE FEVER OUTBREAK IN NORTH INDIA: A EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES:-Dengue virus infection produces a broad spectrum of symptoms, many of which are non-specic. After the onset of illness, the virus can be detected in serum, plasma, circulating blood cells and other tissues for 4–5 days. During the early stages of the disease, virus isolation, nucleic acid or antigen detection can be used to diagnose the infection. At the end of the acute phase of infection, serology is the method of choice for diagnosis. Thus, a diagnosis based only on clinical symptoms is unreliable. The objectives of the study were to know the incidence of laboratory conrmed dengue cases among the clinically suspected patients and to co-relate the above with the environmental conditions. : METHODS The present study was conducted retrospectively for a period of whole one year during the recent outbreak of dengue fever in Sitapur in the year 2018.Time of collection of the blood after the onset of fever is 1-6 days and after ve days for NS1 antigen and IgM antibodies, respectively. Specimen transport is not a problem as immunoglobulins are stable at tropical room temperatures.RESULTS - Total 209 blood samples were collected and analyzed.Out of 209, 130 ( 62.2%) were male and 79 (37.8%) were female. In the present study, maximum number of positivity were observed in 21-30 yrs of (42.6%) age group. The maximum cases diagnosed of dengue fever ,were in October (53.6% ), followed by september ( 26.8% ).The number of samples positive for dengue virus specic IgM antibodies was 55.0%, suspected secondary infection was 23.7% & secondary infection was 21.3%. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION-Effective and accurate diagnosis of dengue is of primary importance for clinical care,early detection of severe cases, case conrmation and differential diagnosis.