BENGALURU: A serious attack involves weeks of recovery, tossing and turning in hellish delirium. Sweating, fever, muscle spasms, vomiting and a thumping pain behind the eyes and in the joints. Unfortunately, this year, the monsoons have brought a deadly wave of the dengue fever to Karnataka, sweeping across and killing hundreds, while leaving tens of thousands sick.
The mosquito-borne viral disease has become one of the worst nightmares for people. Also called ‘breakbone fever’ or ‘dandy fever’, it is caused by a family of viruses and is transmitted via the
Aedes mosquito.
It is these deadly insects which have become a bane for people, especially in the state capital of Bengaluru, which has the highest number of dengue-positive cases in Karnataka. To make matters worse, the number of Chikungunya cases, also spread by mosquitoes, is on the rise as well.
Malaria, a common ailment in the Malnad and coastal areas, has also crept into the BBMP limits owing to uncontrolled breeding of mosquitoes. Meanwhile floods across several districts have made matters worse with both dengue and Chikungunya becoming extremely rampant. So bad is the situation that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has listed Karnataka as one of the five worst-hit states this year among Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala along with Gujarat and Rajasthan.
“This year has been bad,” says Dr Srikantha N, a General Physician with a government hospital in Bengaluru who claims to see a minimum of 20 cases with suspected symptoms of dengue every day. “It has been so bad that union minister Harsh Vardhan had even convened a meeting with all states to tackle this vector-borne disease. However, not much seems to be happening in this area,” he explained.
According to data shared by the National Health Mission Family and Welfare Services, Karnataka, the total number of cases of dengue has crossed 5,000 this year. Unfortunately, the dengue virus has also been changing and there has been a ‘pathological alteration’ medical experts say. Dr Bhagath Ram, a physician at Victoria Hospital said the virus has been attacking vital organs in the abdomen more quickly and frequently with altered symptoms this season resulting in quicker deaths due to multi-organ failure.
“While haemorrhage and skin rashes had been the predominant initial effects of the virus till last year, they have changed to kidney and liver failure, pancreas ailment or water accumulation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract this year, making recovery difficult,” Dr Gopikrishna, a paediatrician at a private hospital said.
“While you can deal with hemorrhage more easily with platelet transfusion, it becomes very difficult if the organs start malfunctioning. This has been happening very frequently this year,” he added.
The virus has also been triggering diarrhoea. “The symptoms have been treacherous this year making victims take it lightly. Instead of waiting for rashes to appear or platelet to drop, dengue patients should consult doctors immediately,” Dr Prashanth RS, a general physician and consultant from Koramangala said.
Experts suspect that the altered symptoms could have been triggered by a mutation of the dengue serotype and there is an urgent need to analyse the virus in a lab. “Unless the virus is tested nothing can be done in this regard. There is very little research being done on the subject in the state,” he opined.
The surge in dengue in the city is not only a pressing health issue for people and health authorities, but with many cases of severe dengue, the disease is weighing heavy on people’s pockets. While the tests themselves cost approximately Rs 2,000. Affected patients claim that the doctors ask them to test a minimum of twice or thrice to confirm that there are no traces of dengue left in their system after treatment. These tests, as well as the missed workdays, are costing them dearly.
A state-wide problem
In Dakshina Kannada, over 200 cases were recorded in August with as many as 12 suspected deaths
The urban belts of Belagavi, Bailhongal and Gokak in North Karnataka have seen registration of the highest number of cases
In Hubbali-Dharwad, officials are conducting surveys. No deaths have occurred and 108 cases were reported from January this year
Kalaburagi district saw 173 cases of dengue being recorded till the end of August. Last year, this figure was at 89 confirmed cases
Mysuru district has recorded 56 confirmed cases with 25 from Myusuru city alone
