Dengue under control in Haridwar, few cases reported so far

In good news for Haridwar, dengue, the dreaded vector-borne disease, has been kept under control so far this year unlike last year when it assumed proportions of an epidemic. The sole patient who was admitted to Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant, has been discharged after his blood platelets count came upto 1.50 lakh. Meanwhile, the municipal corporation launched an awareness campaign with the assistance of several schools and NGOs. Through rallies taken out by the students of Sewa Sadan, people were made aware of the need to keep their surroundings clean and report to the health centre if some symptoms of dengue like high fever are noticed in anyone.

The District Malaria Officer Dr Subhash Joshi said while talking to The Pioneer on Wednesday that a total of 10 cases of suspected dengue had been reported in the district so far. “Blood samples were taken for their ELISA test. The accuracy of an IgM-ELISA is between 85-90 per cent whereas that of strip or card method is 30-33 per cent. The centre is thus providing free kits to the hospitals for the right diagnosis of dengue. Only one patient from BHEL was confirmed to have dengue following test when his blood platelets plummeted to 45000. The patient got the fever in Pune when he was there on some official work, but now he has recovered as per the hospital authorities,” he said.

The symptoms of any fever may be the same- high body temperature, body ache, bleeding and red spots appearing on the skin. But confirmation of dengue by ELISA test is mandatory, opine the doctors.  Dr Joshi further said, “Most patients are still opting for the early detection rapid method because the results are available in less than 30 minutes, and the test is more commonly available, but it is not very accurate. The exact diagnosis of dengue comes only after IgM-Elisa test which can detect dengue only after five days of the onset.”

The NS1 antigen is a viral protein, which is detected in the early part of infection of a patient. It occurs within three days after the patient presents clinical signs, said Dr Joshi. “If a patient undergoes tests within three days chances of diagnosis is high with rapid card test, but false positives and negatives cannot be ruled out. ELISA test is the only reliable one as it diagnoses dengue accurately,” he said.

Contacted, the secretary head of R K Mission Sewashram at Kankhal, Swami Nityashudhananda said, “Two suspected dengue patients were admitted to the hospital. While    one of them was discharged following treatment the other is improving. The fever has been controlled.” He added that the disease has been kept under control so far this year.