The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Dengue rears its head in city again

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Dengue rears its head in city again

Staff Reporter

Ten cases reported so far this week

Bangalore: Even though the State Health Department and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities claim to have taken up adequate measures to check mosquito menace, with the intermittent rains, cases of dengue are being reported from city hospitals.

According to Victoria Hospital authorities, two persons with suspected dengue have been admitted there. “We have had at least four cases of suspected dengue in the last one week and these patients presented with high fever and pain in the calf muscles,” a senior doctor at the hospital said.

Hospital authorities said that the blood samples of these patients had been sent for virology testing and the reports were awaited.

At least 20 children with dengue-like symptoms were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health since the beginning of this month. There are four children undergoing treatment at the hospital at the moment and some of the cases are of a serious nature.

Symptoms

M.L. Siddaraju, Director of the institute said, “Some children have gone into ‘Dengue shock syndrome’ where there is fluid accumulation in the liver and lungs and a few of them also had neurological symptoms.

But all the children are recovering and there have been no deaths.”

In M.S. Ramaiah Hospital, four patients with suspected dengue are presently admitted and are undergoing treatment. “These patients had high fever and their blood platelet count was low when they came to the hospital. Even though they presented with a severe form of dengue, they are being managed well and are now recovering,” V. Narendranath, Joint Medical Director at M.S. Ramaiah Hospital, told The Hindu.

Dr. Narendranath said that this month the hospital had received seven suspected dengue cases while last month there were around 25 cases reported.

Private clinics have also been receiving at least two cases a week of patients with dengue-like symptoms.

“In our area, there is so much of garbage and stagnant water because of the rains that it has become infested with mosquitoes.

Many people have been falling ill. But the authorities have not done anything to deal with the problem. Only ion Monday, the BBMP has taken up fogging measures but that is not enough,” said Venkatesh, a resident of Jagadishnagar near HAL.

The ailment is caused by the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti that breeds on stagnant water and the symptoms include fever, lower back ache and pain in the calf muscles.

In severe cases, patients may have viral haemorrhagic fever, where there may be internal bleeding and bleeding from the nose and gums.

When contacted, L.T. Gayathri, Chief Health Officer, BBMP, denied that any confirmed cases of dengue had been reported from the city.

“Most of the dengue cases reported are (only) suspected and have to be confirmed through virology tests,” she said.

A BBMP press release said the civic body had directed private hospitals to immediately provide treatment to cases they come across and to inform the area health officer.

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