Dengue Fever: Clinical, Serological, and Geographical Profile from a Tertiary Care Center in South India

Dengue fever is one of the common arboviral infections associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Recently, there has been a rapid increase in dengue cases in India. Early identification of the disease is the key to managing patients effectively to prevent complications. Reemergence and increased occurrence of dengue are due to population growth facilities, lack of vector control, increased urbanization and climatic changes. The present study aimed to know dengue seropositivity in different seasons of the 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). The laboratory investigations like total WBC count, PCV and platelet counts of each patient were analyzed to know their range in dengue illness. Demographic details were taken to create geographical maps of the disease. Among the total 4172 suspected dengue cases, 817 had confirmed dengue illness. Of these 817 cases, 584 showed NS1 antigen (71.4%) positivity, 150 cases displayed IgM antibody (18.3%), and 38 had both NS1 and Ig M (4.6%). Platelet counts of less than 1,00,000 were seen in 566 (69.27%) patients. Total leukocyte count (TLC) was decreased in 39.29% of the patients and TLC was increased in 16.03% of cases. Dengue was noticeably more during monsoon time (June to September) of the year. Through geographical maps, major clusters were noticed in urban areas of Mysuru and Krishnaraja Nagara, while a few clusters were also observed in Periyapatna and T. Narsipura taluks of Mysuru district. The major reasons for the outbreak of dengue illness in Mysuru district include infrastructure development and building projects in the district being increased in the last 5 years. Mysuru district being an important tourist destination is frequently visited by travelers from within India and abroad which facilitates transport activities and travelers could themselves act as a mode of introduction of different viral strains. 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 the burden of the disease is more. This study helps the health authorities to ensure early and adequate preparedness in controlling possible epidemics in the future.