Clinico-Serological Profile and Geographical Distribution of Dengue Fever from a Tertiary Care Hospital, South India

Abstract

Dengue fever is one of the common viral illnesses linked with significant morbidity and mortality. Of late, there is rapid increase in dengue cases in India. The present study aimed to known dengue seropositivity in different seasons of a year, other laboratory parameters and its geographical distribution. During the study period of 15 months 4172 patients hospitalized with probable dengue fever were included. Dengue serology was done for all cases by ELISA(J. Mitra & Co). Demographic details were taken to create geographical maps of the disease. Of the 4172 suspected dengue cases, 817 had confirmed dengue illness. Of these 817 cases, 584 showed Ns1 antigen (71.4%), 150 IgM antibody (18.3%), and 38 had both Ns1 and Ig M (4.6%). Platelet count less than 1,00,000 were seen in 566 (69.27%) patients. Dengue was noticeably more during monsoon time (June to September) of a year. Through geographical maps major clusters were noticed urban areas of Mysuru and Krishnaraja Nagara , while few clusters were also observed in Periyapatna and T Narsipura taluks of Mysuru district. To minimize the load of dengue cases and its death rate better community awareness and vector control measures need to be strengthened during monsoon especially in areas where burden of the disease is more. This study helps in early preparedness of the authorities concerned in controlling possible epidemics in future.