Dengue cases cross 150 in Ghaziabad, more of scrub typhus patients getting hospitalised

The number of people infected with dengue fever has crossed 150-mark so far this month in the district, with 119 patients or nearly 77% requiring hospitalisation, according to figures of the district health department

The number of people infected with dengue fever has crossed 150-mark so far this month in the district, with 119 patients or nearly 77% requiring hospitalisation, according to figures of the district health department. The first dengue case this year was reported on September 1, officials said.

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The data also revealed that the instances of scrub typhus have reached 39 and over 87% of such patients required hospitalisation. Scrub typhus is caused by a bacterium called Orientia tsutsugamushi and the disease spreads to people through bites of infected larval mites.

Till Monday evening, Ghaziabad reported a total of 155 dengue cases, the data showed. Last year, the district had recorded only 15 cases of dengue.

According to the officials, the dengue cases reported so far in Ghaziabad are the highest since 2017 when the district had recorded a total of 232 such cases.

Explaining the high rate of hospitalisation in these cases, Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer, said, “The fatality rate in case of scrub typhus is usually about 30%, while in case of malaria it is just about 1%. So, patients of scrub typhus prefer hospitalisation. Likewise, in case of dengue, when the platelet count comes down, patients prefer hospitalisation.”

No death due to these two diseases has been reported in the district, Gupta said.

“Our teams are regularly keeping an eye on high incidence areas where dengue cases have emerged. Anti-larvae sprays and fogging are getting done regularly. As far as the rise in cases of scrub typhus is concerned, we came to know that people who visited hill stations have got affected by scrub typhus. More than 90% of scrub typhus patients have history of visits to hill stations. So, the spread is not local,” said GK Mishra, district malaria officer.

Experts said that indications of scrub typhus are fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, among others.

“Patients who are getting admitted to hospitals due to fever are also being tested for scrub typhus. In the past few years, we have come across high number of cases of scrub typhus. Its patients also develop red rashes on skin. However, many scrub typhus and dengue patients with mild symptoms get recovered easily. Only patients having complications like dengue haemorrhagic fever require admission,” said Dr Ashish Agarwal, president of Indian Medical Association (Ghaziabad chapter).

“The incidence of vector-borne disease is high this year as there have been frequent rains during the ongoing monsoon season. This has resulted in waterlogging in several parts of the district, giving favourable conditions for mosquitoes to breed,” he added.