Pune hospitals report rise in dengue cases among children
Pune: Hospitals in Pune have started reporting an increase in dengue cases among children following recent heavy rainfall and intermittent showers.
Conditions are now ripe for mosquito breeding, experts said, as they warned citizens to ensure there's no waterlogging or stagnant pools near homes and offices.
"Dengue is typically seen first in children as they often play outside," said Dr Sagar Lad, a senior neonatologist and pediatric intensivist at Jehangir Hospital and Sahyadri Hospital, Shastrinagar.
Dr Lad said he's seen at least three children admitted for dengue this week, with all of them presenting high fever, low platelet counts and rashes.
"Until last week, we had no dengue cases, but the intermittent rains may have contributed to mosquito breeding," he said.
The affected children, aged 3 to 4 years, have a history of playing outdoors in the evening — the time when the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector for dengue, is most active.
According to data released by PMC, 13 suspected dengue cases — positive for the NS1 antigen test in private labs — were recorded in the first seven days of June. This number is significant when compared to previous months - there were 18 cases reported in all of March, 19 in April and 23 in May.
Dr Pradeep Suryawanshi, honorary director of the Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology at Sahyadri Hospitals, told TOI: "We have started seeing dengue cases among children. Two weeks ago we had no cases, but in the last one week, I've had two children test positive. One was managed on an OPD basis while the other needed hospitalization. They had a history of playing outside. They came with rashes and their platelets were low.
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Dr Urvi Shukla, director of ICU at Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, said: "With instances of waterlogging, sporadic cases of dengue are being reported in adults too over the last 10 days. People must take precautions. If there are vessels collecting water in the house or balcony, they must be removed. If there are water plants at home, the water has to be changed every 3-4 days."
As per PMC officials, suspected dengue cases are those that have been NS1 positive in private labs and not confirmed by the National Institute of Virology or by experts at BJ Medical College, by checking IgG and IgM antibodies. But irrespective of where a person has been tested, PMC treats each such case as a dengue case. NS1 is a test that detects presence of a dengue virus protein in the blood. IgG and IgM are antibody tests that help determine if the infection is recent or past, and are typically used for confirmation.
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