12 dengue patients in city show signs of chikungunya

MUMBAI: Twelve dengue patients from the city are suffering from an infection from a virus mimicking chikungunya, a phenomenon which has killed at least 20 people

MUMBAI: Twelve dengue patients from the city are suffering from an infection from a virus mimicking chikungunya, a phenomenon which has killed at least 20 people in Delhi so far, said doctors.

HT Image

The patients have been kept under observation at the civic-run Kasturba Hospital and their blood samples will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, to identify the strain mimicking the vector-borne virus. The reports are expected in four to five weeks.

The number of chikungunya cases in the state has more than doubled between January and September this year, said officials, adding 207 cases were reported last year. Of the 637 cases recorded in Maharashtra this year, 500 were from Pune city and Pune rural areas.

Dr Om Srivastava, head of infectious diseases cell, Jaslok hospital, who works closely with the state vector control cell, said patients at Kasturba Hospital have tested negative for the DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, used as a diagnostic tool for chikungunya. “The patients suffering from dengue have joint pain and fever, which are symptoms of chikungunya infection. But as the tests are negative, we suspect it is a different strain of virus which is mimicking chikungunya,” said Srivastava. “We cannot say Mumbai is under the twin attack of chikungunya and dengue, which increases the mortality rate in patients.”

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, is treating 112 people for chikungunya, 11 of whom have contracted dengue too. The number of chikungunya cases reached 3,695 in the Capital, data released by municipal corporations showed. They have recorded 1,692 cases of dengue so far.

“Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes spread both the viruses. The outbreak of chikungunya is controlled as there are fewer cases of dengue,” said Dr Lalit Dar, a professor of microbiology at AIIMS, Delhi.

The patient was suffering from high fever, drowsiness and meningitis (inflammation of brain and spinal cord membranes). We aren’t sure if he was suffering from dengue, because while the symptoms indicated so and the NS1 Antigen test was positive, his ELISA test was negative,’ said Dr Bharat Jagyasi, a doctor at MGM Hospital from Vashi.

Jagyasi said Patil was put on ventilator support but succumbed to multiple disorders. The cause of death given by the treating doctors was severe sepsis with metabolic acidosis (increase in plasma acidity) with viral thrombocythemia (rare chronic blood disorder) with acute lung injury.

The father of two, a 21-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son, Patil was apparently transferred from Pant Nagar police station to Govandi Police station a month ago. “He had high fever for three four days and kept taking medicine from a general physician. Eventually, his condition worsened and he got admitted to hospital,” said Shrikant Mohite, senior inspector of Pant Nagar police station.

Another police official, attached with the Govandi police station confirmed they are facing issues with too many mosquitoes owing to the lack of sanitation facilities and several the presence of possible breeding grounds. “We have a lot of junkyards around,” the policeman said, on the condition of anonymity.

Dr Om Srivastava, head of the Infectious Diseases Cell at Jaslok Hospital who was called to treat the JJ hospital doctor said while the two cases sounded similar, he will have to look into the details to comment on it.

“It looks like a very similar disorder. We have sent samples of multiple such viruses, documented to produce a fierce viral attack to National Institute of Virology and we are awaiting results,” said Srivastava.