HYDERABAD: Close to 9,000 dengue cases have been reported this year in the State and cases of pregnant women diagnosed with the vector-borne diseases have been alarmingly high. While most government maternity hospitals refused to divulge the data, doctors from corporate hospitals confirmed that each hospital dealt with close to 6-7 cases of pregnant women encountering complicated deliveries due to dengue.
Ranging from still births to spontaneous abortions, experts say that dengue congenitally affects the new-born as well, making it difficult to save the lives of both the mother and the baby.
Speaking to Express, a senior gynaecologist from the Gandhi Hospital, choosing to stay anonymous, said, “The number of pregnant women with dengue has been prevalent this year. We have had cases wherein the mother has come to hospital affected by dengue and chikungunya simultaneously. We have also, unfortunately, lost a life of a to-be mother to dengue with a combination of encephalitis.” However, the State government has not released any formal statement on the number of dengue casualties, and maintains no deaths have occurred.
Dr Sahithya, a consultant gynaecologist at CARE Hospital, said, “We have treated close to five pregnant women with dengue. Pregnant women are likely to be more affected as they are already immuno-compromised. A C-section is normally a strict no-no for a woman diagnosed with dengue as her platelet count is already low and she cannot afford the blood loss,” she said.
She further said, “By the time the woman is in her last weeks of gestation, and she contracts dengue, there is a high possibility that the foetus will contract the infection as the anti-bodies from the mother’s body start passing into the child.”
However, no concrete literature is available to provide proof with regard to this phenomena, says Dr Ravi Varma, HoD of Pediatric Department at Niloufer Hospital. “We have treated babies and infants who have tested dengue positive. The baby could have contracted the disease from the mother, however we cannot rule out the possibility of actual mosquito bites triggering the infection,” he added.