DurgeshNandan Jha
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New Delhi:
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Docs: Unusual For 3 To Strike At Same TimeAccurate Reporting Of Diseases Helps A Lot
It's dengue season, but the city is in the grip of swine flu and chikungunya as well. Where 2016 saw fewer than 200 cases of swine flu, the count is already nearing 2,000 this year. The viral disease has killed at least five people while a 12-year-old died of dengue in south Delhi's Humayunpur last week.Those are only the official figures -five top hospitals told TOI they have recorded more than 40 swine flu deaths this year. Dengue is also spreading faster than in 2016, with roughly 30% more infections in July this year.
While chikungunya wracked the city during AugustDecember last year, cases this year have been reported all through, with a clear uptick July onwards.
It's unusual for three viral diseases to strike at the same time. “In 20 years of clinical experience, I have not seen this kind of spread of viral illnesses in Delhi. Dengue and swine flu are spreading with similar intensity . People have also tested positive for chikungunya,“ said Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo hospital. Some patients have also been diagnosed with multiple infections, for example, dengue and typhoid.
“Four members of my family have been down with fever for a week. One of them has tested positive for dengue,“ said Kalpana Sharma, a resident of Greater Kailash-1, who is recovering from viral fever. “The fever takes a week or more to subside these days and the after-effects, like bodyache and fatigue, last even longer.“ The bad news is that the worst is yet to come as these viral diseases spread faster in September and October. “High levels of humidity in August, September and October aid virus growth and transmission,“ said Dr A C Dhariwal, director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Dengue and chikungunya are transmitted through the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito; swine flu spreads from person to person when a patient coughs or sneezes.
Doctors at AIIMS, Safdarjung, Lok Nayak, Apollo, Sir Ganga Ram, Max Saket and BLK hospitals said they have been managing the patient load by utilising beds in non-active departments or creating special wards. But a spike in infections could soon lead to a shortage of beds. In 2015, the Delhi government ordered hospitals to postpone elective surgeries to accommodate dengue patients. Last year, special wards were opened in big hospi tals to deal with the rush of dengue and chikungunya patients. Public health specialists said the looming crisis shows how governments have failed to prepare for viral illnesses spread by mosquitoes and diseases like swine flu.
“The least they can do is raise awareness about preventing the spread of diseases.Dengue and chikungunya, for example, can be reduced significantly if collection of water in household utensils and overhead tanks is stopped. For swine flu, simple measures like maintaining hygiene and staying away from infected people can save so many lives,“ said Dr Rommel Tickko, senior consultant, internal medicine at Max Saket.
The sharp increase in swine flu cases and deaths this year might be because the virus is of a different strain, said Dhariwal. NCDC and AIIMS in Delhi, and Pune's National Institute of Virology have found the `Michigan strain' of swine flu in circulation this year, as against the California strain in previous years.
Dhariwal said accurate reporting of notifiable diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and swine flu is necessary to alert the local population to the precautions needed, and for the state authorities to prepare their action plans to tackle the rush of patients in hospitals.
While chikungunya wracked the city during AugustDecember last year, cases this year have been reported all through, with a clear uptick July onwards.
It's unusual for three viral diseases to strike at the same time. “In 20 years of clinical experience, I have not seen this kind of spread of viral illnesses in Delhi. Dengue and swine flu are spreading with similar intensity . People have also tested positive for chikungunya,“ said Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo hospital. Some patients have also been diagnosed with multiple infections, for example, dengue and typhoid.
“Four members of my family have been down with fever for a week. One of them has tested positive for dengue,“ said Kalpana Sharma, a resident of Greater Kailash-1, who is recovering from viral fever. “The fever takes a week or more to subside these days and the after-effects, like bodyache and fatigue, last even longer.“ The bad news is that the worst is yet to come as these viral diseases spread faster in September and October. “High levels of humidity in August, September and October aid virus growth and transmission,“ said Dr A C Dhariwal, director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Dengue and chikungunya are transmitted through the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito; swine flu spreads from person to person when a patient coughs or sneezes.
Doctors at AIIMS, Safdarjung, Lok Nayak, Apollo, Sir Ganga Ram, Max Saket and BLK hospitals said they have been managing the patient load by utilising beds in non-active departments or creating special wards. But a spike in infections could soon lead to a shortage of beds. In 2015, the Delhi government ordered hospitals to postpone elective surgeries to accommodate dengue patients. Last year, special wards were opened in big hospi tals to deal with the rush of dengue and chikungunya patients. Public health specialists said the looming crisis shows how governments have failed to prepare for viral illnesses spread by mosquitoes and diseases like swine flu.
“The least they can do is raise awareness about preventing the spread of diseases.Dengue and chikungunya, for example, can be reduced significantly if collection of water in household utensils and overhead tanks is stopped. For swine flu, simple measures like maintaining hygiene and staying away from infected people can save so many lives,“ said Dr Rommel Tickko, senior consultant, internal medicine at Max Saket.
The sharp increase in swine flu cases and deaths this year might be because the virus is of a different strain, said Dhariwal. NCDC and AIIMS in Delhi, and Pune's National Institute of Virology have found the `Michigan strain' of swine flu in circulation this year, as against the California strain in previous years.
Dhariwal said accurate reporting of notifiable diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and swine flu is necessary to alert the local population to the precautions needed, and for the state authorities to prepare their action plans to tackle the rush of patients in hospitals.
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