Dengue suspected of killing dozens as Indian state suffers worst outbreak in years
58 people, many of them children, died in his Firozabad alone this month
New Delhi: An outbreak of dengue fever is suspected of killing dozens of people in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh since the start of September, and authorities have launched a campaign to destroy mosquito breeding grounds.
Dinesh Kumar Premi, the chief medical officer in Firozabad, the most affected district in the state, told Reuters that 58 people, many of them children, had died in his district alone, raising fears that Uttar Pradesh is in the midst of its worst dengue outbreak in years.
“We are taking preventive measures and 95 health camps across the district have been operating in order to contain the spread of this fever,” Premi said.
The virus responsible for causing dengue, is called dengue virus (DENV). There are four DENV serotypes, meaning that it is possible to be infected four times.
While many DENV infections produce only mild illness, DENV can cause an acute flu-like illness. Occasionally this develops into a potentially lethal complication, called severe dengue.
Severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries. It requires management by medical professionals.
There is no specific treatment for dengue/severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1%.
The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. About half of the world’s population is now at risk. There are an estimated 100-400 million infections each year.
Dengue prevention and control depends on effective vector control measures. Sustained community involvement can improve vector control efforts substantially.
Symptoms: Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash. Recovery generally takes two to seven days.
A government official said on the condition of anonymity that many children may have died as their poor parents first took them to fake medical practitioners, or quacks, before their condition worsened.
While mosquito-borne dengue is the suspected cause of the deadly viral fever outbreak in Uttar Pradesh, it has only been confirmed as the cause of death in three cases, but an audit is underway to determine if it is to blame for more, Ved Vrat Singh, Uttar Pradesh’s top public health officer, said.
Authorities in Firozabad have formed teams to check households for water logging, and fumigate areas at risk, while they have also released thousands of Gambusia, or mosquitofish, into water bodies to eat the mosquito larvae.
Dengue deaths nationally fell to a multi-year low of 56 last year. Uttar Pradesh reported 42 dengue deaths in 2016, its highest since 2015.
While many DENV infections produce only mild illness, DENV can cause an acute flu-like illness. Occasionally this develops into a potentially lethal complication, called severe dengue.