Clinical, Epidemiological and Microbiological Profile of Dengue Fever at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Delhi, India

Abstract

Dengue Fever (DF), Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) are topmost public health concerns today, especially in tropical and subtropical countries, mainly involving urban and semi-urban areas. It is estimated that two fifth of the population in tropical countries, around 2.5 billion people are vulnerable. Approximately, 50 million dengue infections occur worldwide of which 500,000 people are hospitalized with DHF annually. Nearly 90 percent of them are children less than five years old, and about 2.5 percent die. Dengue epidemics are occurring at an increased frequency and one or more types of serotypes circulate. During these epidemics, infection rate among virus naive patients ranges from 40-90 percent. In India, Dengue is hyperendemic (Category A) and is a notifiable infectious disease. Our hospital has been identified as a Sentinel Surveillance centre for diagnosis and treatment of Dengue in North West district of Delhi. Though gaps exist in terms of public health measures and health education among public, microbiological laboratory plays a crucial role in confirmation of dengue infection and estimation of burden of disease.