Dengue reinfections up, can be fatal unless treated promptly

Infection Provides Immunity Only Against That Particular Strain: Docs

The post-monsoon dengue season opened on a familiar template, with several states reporting an outbreak of the mosquito-borne viral fever that leaves its victims exhausted, in great pain, and causes the blood platelet count to drop. But the prognosis looks bad for people diagnosed with the disease this autumn, as reinfections are on the rise and evolving in worrisome ways.

Doctors warned that reinfections can cause serious illness, often requiring intensive care, and may prove fatal if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Case in point: a 26-year-old patient died in a Kolkata hospital on October 20 after catching the virus thrice in five years.

“Around 30% of patients, whose infection history could be traced, had dengue before,” said Nishant Agarwal of Charnock Hospital in Kolkata. History has repeatedly demonstrated that a second dengue infection within 18 months of the first can have grave clinical consequences, said Dr Arpita Dwivedy of Hiranandani Hospital in Mumbai.

More than 80% patients in Pune, considered a hotbed of dengue in Maharashtra, have been diagnosed with reinfection this season, said Dr Rajesh Gadia of KEM Hospital. “But only about 10% of them have developed complications. Fatalities can be checked with appropriate and adequate medical management.”