dengue fever protection and prevention Mumbai India when to worry?

As the flu started waning, dengue started rising... beware of mosquitoes.. the repellent creams have been the best for protection till date. Do take care even though the dengue cases this year are often not complicating... and surely dengue cases don't die of low platelets unless it causes some serious bleed.
apart from these... a new virus like say adenovirus appears to have visited town since a week or two.. causing kids and adults to lose voice after a day of high fever and body aches. Luckily its self limiting and may not need antibiotics too.Take care not to spread these viruses, do follow basic hygeinic measures of hand wash/hand shake/sneezing etc  read more

Recently Dengue fever cases are on rise with decline in malaria cases in Mumbai.

It can present in various different forms with different patterns of fever or no fever. The care in Dengue fever is like that in any viral fever as mentioned below but in addition dengue can at times gets serious and life threatening and early signs that may warrant extra care/ monitoring or hospitalisation are:
1. drop in platelet count or total cell count
2.swollen face or limbs/hands/feet or distended tummy all may suggest fluid retention
3. reduced urine, low blood pressure or giddiness or feeling for lying down in bed than sitting or doing normal work
4.any rash/bruses or bleeding or similar manifestation
Tests that may make a confirmation are NS1 antigen test fro first 3-4 days of fever , then IgM and IgG tests for Dengue in subsequent days.
Tests are less important than clinical monitoring.Real risk may start when fever disappears and platelets start falling down.
Many viruses cause similar picture and are called dengue like illness when tests are negative. once first weeks symptom phase is passed, relatively there little or no risk due to dengue. As it spreads by mosquito bite, a simple trick of using body creams of mosquito repellant like say odomos will help prevent mosquito bites and spread of dengue from person to person in family and kids.
dont waste money on fruits.. its a rumour. read more
Dr Kondekar

click here for basic care in viral fevers

Http://kondekar.weebly.com/.../care-in-viral-fevers-how...
REPLY

 IMA dengue guidelines and has asked citizens not to panic. The present serotype is less fatal than the one in 2013 and the more reliable test is haematocrit rather than test for platelet count. Here are a few important things about dengue that you should know:
1

New serotype of dengue

Dengue normally are of Den1, Den2, Den 3 and Den4 serotypes.

Serotypes 1 and 3 are less dangerous as compared to 2 and 4.

This year serotypes 2 and 4 are prevalent.

As per AIIMS, the type 4 strain of the disease has emerged as the dominant type for the first time in the capital, along with dengue type 2.
2.Serotype-specific symptoms

Symptoms of type 4 dengue include fever with shock and a drop in platelets.

Type 2 causes a severe drop in platelets, haemorrhagic fever, organ failure and dengue shock syndrome.

Every strain carries the risks of hemorrhagic fever, but type 4 is less virulent than type 2. Risk of severe dengue is highest with dengue-2 viruses.
3.General symptoms

Classic dengue fever is an acute febrile illness accompanied by headache, retro orbital pain, and marked muscle and joint pains.

Symptoms typically develop between four and seven days after the bite of an infected mosquito.

The incubation period may range from three to 14 days. Fever typically lasts for five to seven days.

The febrile period may also be followed by a period of marked fatigue that can last for days to weeks, especially in adults.

Joint pain, body aches, and rash are more common in females.

2 days after the last episode of the fever are crucial and during this period, a patient should be encouraged to take plenty of oral fluids mixed with salt and sugar.

The main complication is leakage of capillaries and collection of blood outside the blood channels leading to intravascular dehydration.

Giving fluids orally or by intravenous routes, if given at a proper time, can save fatal complications.
4.
Do not panic

Most dengue patients are not serious, dengue is both preventable and manageable.

The risk of complications is in less than 1 per cent of dengue cases and, if warning signals are known to the public, all deaths from dengue can be avoided.

A platelet transfusion is not needed unless patient has active bleeding (other than petechiae) and platelet counts are less than 10,000.

Unnecessary platelet transfusion can cause more harm than good.
5.'Warning signs': Only these need admission

Severe abdominal pain or tenderness.

Persistent vomiting, lethargy or restlessness.

Abrupt change from fever to hypothermia.

Bleeding, pallor.

Cold /clammy extremities.

Liver enlargement on physical exam.

Abnormal mental status.
6.
Early recognition

Dramatic plasma leakage often develops suddenly; therefore, substantial attention has been placed on early identification of patients at higher risk for shock and other complications.

The period of maximum risk for shock is between the third and seventh day of illness. This tends to coincide with resolution of fever. Plasma leakage generally first becomes evident between 24 hours before and 24 hours after defervescence.

An elevation of the hematocrit is an indication that plasma leakage has already occurred and that fluid repletion is urgently required.

Low platelet count usually precedes overt plasma leakage.

Mild elevations in serum SGOT and SGPT levels are common. Bit in severe dengue the levels are very high with SGOT > SGPT levels.

A normal SGOT levels is a strong negative predictor of severe dengue even in the first three days of illness.

NS 1 of >600 mg/ml suggests severe dengue.

Coexisting medical conditions and chronic hemolytic disease may complicate management. Referral for hospitalization is recommended for such patients, regardless of other findings.

Additionally, hospitalization should be considered for patients who may have difficulties with outpatient follow-up (eg, patients who live alone or who live far from a healthcare facility without a reliable means of transport).

Patients with suspected dengue who do not have any of the above indicators probably can be safely managed as outpatients. Daily outpatient visits may be needed to permit serial assessment of blood pressure, hematocrit , and platelet count.
7.Fluid requirement

20 ml/kg body weight as bolus

10 ml/kg over the next first hour

7 mL/kg/hour for next two hours

5 ml/kg/hour for next four hours

3 ml/kg/hour for next 8 hours
8.Assessment

Must pass urine every three hours.

Duration of extra fluids.

The fluids that are lost into potential spaces (eg, pleura, peritoneum) during the period of plasma leakage are rapidly reabsorbed.

Intravenous fluid supplementation should be discontinued once patients have passed the period of plasma leakage.

Usually no more than 48 hours of intravenous fluid therapy are required.

Excessive fluid administration after this point can precipitate hypervolemia and pulmonary edema.
9.When to discharge

In the absence of complications from prolonged hypotension or from medical interventions, most patients with severe dengue recover within a few days of admission.

No fever for at least 24 hours.

Two days have passed after an episode of shock.

Patient is clinically well.

Normal normal appetite, urine output, and hematocrit.
10.
No aspirin

Patients with dengue should be cautioned to maintain their fluid intake to avoid dehydration and to take paracetamol as needed for fevers and myalgias.

Aspirin or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents should generally be avoided.
11.
Some more facts

Doctors were expecting the strain to change this year, given the large number of cases. Doctors were not expecting type 4 because it has never been actively circulating in Delhi.

When the dominant strain remains the same for a long period, a significant population develops immunity to it, and fewer patients are diagnosed with the virus.

Infection with one of the four serotypes of dengue virus (primary infection) provides lifelong immunity to infection with a virus of the same serotype.

However, immunity to the other dengue serotypes is transient, and individuals can subsequently be infected with another dengue serotype (secondary infection).

Subsequent infection with a second type increases the likelihood of serious illness.

The risk for severe dengue appears to decline with n age, especially after age 11 years.
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डॉं कोंडेकर संतोष वेंकटरमण@मुंबई Dr Santosh Kondekar is now also available at Shushrusha hospital Dadar West . Mumbai India. Monday to Friday at 7 to 9 PM. www.kondekar.com Follow @9869405747 DR SK is a qualified pediatrician with MD and DNB qualification, from India who has specialised himself in counselling parents and children about the knowledge and various aspects of child health, illness, treament, diseases and their doctors. Dr SK is working as a pediatric intensivist and respiratory and infections specialist at Seth G S Medical College and KEM Hospital Mumbai India 400012. He has clinical expertise in guiding doctors, patients and also managing various illnesses and / or clinical situations concerning child health and its aspects like: Growth, Development Social and behavioural pediatrics including ADHD Respiratory illnesses including cold,cough, asthma Cardiac illnesses including congenital defects and rheumatic diseases Renal diseases Gastrointestinal diseases including diarrhea, vomiting, infections. hematological illnesses including anemias and hemorrhages. and various infections caused by various bugs like bacteria viruses and fungus. and many other clinical situations, illnesses, diseases. He has special interest in tuberculosis and other infections affecting various body organs and systems. The answers posted at above website are sole opinions of Dr SK with or without references and personal experience. These answers are just hypothetical and logical assesment of the limited information provided by the parent to the doctor in the form. The doctor being not able to examine the patiet and / or being not able to have access to reports, is practically not in a position to make diagnosis orprove it wrong... or suggest any treatment. Treatment suggested by this doctor at this site is just a hypothetical suggestion in agiven hypothetical limited situation which the parent may use for his basic understanding or discussion with his doctor, and for understanding and following basic health norms. Donot follow any prescription just because it was mentioned at this site. The consultation didnot take place, as the doctor has not examined the patient, legally its impossible to give any online prscription. What the doctor had written here is not a prescription for the given hypothetical case.

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