Many dengue patients in Delhi developing liver dysfunction: Doctors
2 min read . Updated: 26 Oct 2022, 07:53 PM IST
Premium- As dengue cases are rising in Delhi, doctors have warned that many dengue patients are developing liver dysfunction
Delhi has reported more than 900 cases of dengue in October this year, which is nearly 50% of the cases logged in the year so far. The infection tally reached 1,876 and doctors are also warning of severe complications such as liver dysfunction and capillary leak.
"On an average, every day six to 10 patients are getting admitted. Patients are developing issues like severe liver dysfunction and capillary leak. These are young patients aged between 20-40 years," said Dr. Sumit Ray, head of critical care at Holy Family Hospital in Okhla.
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia assured that the government is keeping a close eye on the data and fatalities from dengue are still under control despite rising cases.
Dr. Ray also elaborated upon the reasons for such severe complications and informed that this could be either due to dysregulated immune response or people moving out after the gap of two years due to lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.
"Ninety percent of people have a balanced immune response but in some cases, the immune system is over-responsive or under-responsive. Both situations are not good for patients. Also, people in that age group might be seeing more complications since they comprise the working population and have to step out more often as compared to the elderly who mostly stay at home," he opined.
Dr. Sushila Kataria, senior director - Internal Medicine at Medanta in Gurugram stressed that ‘liver involvement' is not rare in dengue cases and as people are coming out of tight restrictions due to Covid-19, cases are likely to increase.
"The patients getting admitted are usually those who have warning symptoms or some complications like their kidney or liver are severely affected. About 60 percent to 80 percent will have liver derangement in dengue. Sometimes, the liver enzymes that should be below 50, are rising to 20,000," she said.
Dengue cases usually crop up during monsoons in July, but due to shifts in rainfall patterns, especially this year when Delhi saw record rains in September, the cases are boosting up in September and October.
In 2021, Delhi saw the most number of cases (9,613) and the highest number of deaths (23) from dengue since 2015-16. The number of deaths has ranged between 2-10 before last year. According to National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control, no deaths have been reported so far in Delhi.
With Inputs from PTI.
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