Rare for people to die of chikungunya

NEW DELHI: Five chikungunya deaths have been reported in the Capital so far — all of them in September 2016, and four in the same hospital over 48 hours. All four

NEW DELHI: Five chikungunya deaths have been reported in the Capital so far — all of them in September 2016, and four in the same hospital over 48 hours. All four were men between the ages of 61 and 75.

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On Tuesday, the fifth death — that of a 22-year-old chikungunya patient due to cardiac arrest on September 1 at Hindu Rao Hospital — was confirmed.

“No deaths due to chikungunya have ever been reported in Delhi. I was quite surprised in the morning. However, it has come to our notice that the four patients had co-morbid conditions (those that occur together), so we have to examine whether they died of chikungunya,” said north MCD hospital administration director, Dr DK Seth.

The four patients who died at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital did so within a day of being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

“The four patients were referred to us in a critical condition when their organs had already started failing. All four had co-morbid conditions too – one had diabetes, two had kidney disease and the third had asthma,” said head of the department of medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr SP Byotra.

North MCD’s Dr Seth said the fifth patient developed an abnormal heart rhythm. “She had a cardiac arrest within hours of being admitted to the hospital. She was moved to the ICU where she died on September 1,” said Dr Seth.

Apart from fever, she had none of the characteristic symptoms – joint pain, headache and rash. The antigen report later came out to be positive for chikungunya.

“The cardiac episode might have been triggered by electrolyte imbalance caused by chikungunya. But, we have to see whether she had any existing conditions,” said Dr Seth.

Experts said people must not panic and rush to hospitals.

“It is very rare to die of chikungunya. Only people who are really young or old, have a compromised immune system like an HIV or TB patient and are living with other conditions like diabetes or heart problems ever die of it,” said Dr Seth.

Chikungunya is a viral disease spread to humans by infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain that can last for days to weeks but rarely kills. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.

According to the World Health Organisation, most patients recover fully. In some cases, joint pain may persist for several months. Occasional cases of eye, neurological and heart complications as well as gastrointestinal complaints have been reported.

Serious complications are not common, but in older people the disease can contribute to the cause of death.

“Dengue and chikungunya are both self-limiting diseases and people can receive adequate care at home. People must not panic and flood the hospitals because this puts a burden on the system and the minuscule percentage of people who actually require hospitalisation end up suffering,” said All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director, Dr MC Mishra.

However, doctors recommend consulting a doctor if one has uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, kidney problems, etc. Rush the patient to a hospital if they develop blurry vision, have persistent vomiting, nausea and difficulty in breathing.

Delhi is reeling under an onslaught of viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, most of which begin with fever, headache and body pains, confining a person to bed for a week. Hospitals are overflowing with patients complaining of fever and joint pains.

Across India, 12,000 cases of chikungunya and 27,000 cases of dengue have been reported this year with Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala among the worst affected.

Dengue and chikungunya cases go up during and just after the rainy season that normal lasts from June to September because Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that spreads both infections, breeds in fresh rainwater.