Dengue Epidemic in Jamshedpur-Tata Main Hospital (TMH) Experience

It manifests with wide range of severity from asymptomatic mild febrile illness to life threatening disease including Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). Classic dengue fever frequently presents with fever, headache, myalgias, arthalgias, nausea, and vomiting and maculopapular skin rash. According to the WHO report, the mortality in untreated cases of dengue fever was as high as 20% while in hospitalized patients the mortality rate was less than 1% [2]. Early diagnosis of dengue is important for provision of specific care which ensures marked reduction in the morbidity of the disease [2]. Dengue infection is a major health problem worldwide including our country. Globally the incidence of dengue has increased thirty folds in the last four decades [1]. The World Health Organization estimates that 50 to 100 million cases of dengue infection occur each year [1-3]. In India, the first evidence about the occurrence of dengue fever was reported during 1956 from Vellore district in Tamil Nadu. The first DHF outbreak occurred in Kolkata, West Bengal in 1963 with 30% of cases showing haemorrhagic manifestations [4]. Since then several outbreaks of dengue fever have been reported from India from time to time. All the four serotypes have been isolated in India. Abstract