NEW DELHI: Amid a spike in dengue cases in the national capital, the Out Pateint Department (OPD) of hospitals are swarmed with patients who are coming with “overlapping symptoms” of the vector-born infection, Covid-19 and Swine flu.
According to the doctors, the proportion of dengue is high among such patients. Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, claimed that 80 out of 100 fever cases are turning positive for dengue. “Only around 5 per cent go for Covid-19 test because symptoms mostly resolve on their own being another viral infection,” said. Dr Ankita Baidya, consultant – infectious disease, at Manipal Hospital.
“Covid-19 is not creating much trouble so patients are not going for Covid-19 test but those with cold and viral like symptoms are testing positive for dengue,” she added. Meanwhile, Aakash Healthcare also said that out of the 25-30 cases of patients coming with fever, half turn out to be positive for dengue.
“We get about 10-15 patients with Dengue every day, having common symptoms such as high fever, etc. So whenever we have a patient who has high fever, severe excruciating headaches, or joint pain, then we do start suspecting that is it dengue or some other infection. The symptoms overlap with other viral diseases including Covid-19 and swine flu,” said Dr Vikramjeet singh, consultant, internal medicine at Aakash Healthcare.
Singh said that 4-6 cases of Swine Flu and Dengue are also being reported daily. “The number of Swine Flu cases on a daily average is 4-5. Due to the efforts of the government and society, the cases remain low,” he added.
Cases of vector-borne diseases in the national capital are usually reported between July and November, sometimes stretching till mid-December. Its symptoms include high fever, headache, rash and muscle and joint pain, which are quite similar to that of Covid-19 and Swine flu which also includes fever or chills, muscle or body aches, fatigue and headache among others.