Study of Prevalence and Serodiagnosis of Dengue Fever in Febrile Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital.

ABSTRACT

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world and has emerged as a significant threat and burden to public health systems. The infection is transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito- Aedes aegypti. Dengue viral infection may be asymptomatic or may give rise to undifferentiated fever with or without other associated clinical manifestations, namely, Dengue Fever (DF), Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) or Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). The present study is conducted to evaluate the prevalence and serodiagnosis of Dengue fever among patients with acute febrile illness, provide useful guidance to clinicians for early diagnosis and prevention of untoward complications of dengueMETHODSThis was a retrospective descriptive study conducted for a period of one year in a tertiary care hospital from January 2019- December 2019. Blood samples collected from 1905 clinically suspected cases of dengue fever and serum were separated and tested for detection of Dengue NS1 antigen, Dengue specific IgM antibody and IgG antibody by using Dengue Day 1 test kit (procured from J. Mitra & Co. Ltd, India). Test was performed and results were interpreted as per manufacturer manual.RESULTSOut of 1905 serum samples tested, 273 were positive for dengue and 1632 were negative, with seropositivity was 14.33%. Out of 273 dengue positives, 202 (73.6%) were positives for dengue specific NS1 Antigen, 50 (18.3%) were positives for dengue specific IgM and 14 (5.12%) were positives for dengue specific IgG and 8 (2.93%) were positives for both IgM and IgG. Out of 273 positives cases of dengue, 158 (57.8%) were males and 115 (42.12%) were females. Majority of the patients tested positive were in the age group of 21-30 yrs. (28.2%).CONCLUSIONSDengue cases occur throughout the year with more positives in Jun-October. The incidence of dengue cases was higher in males and in children and in young adults. Early laboratory diagnosis of dengue fever among patients with acute febrile illness is essential to prevent dengue related complications.