Friday, November 20, 2015

Double D: The Dreaded Dengue, Implications of Dengue Infection in Pakistan

By now dengue is a known name to majority of Pakistanis, thanks to 2011 outbreak. After winters each year we start hearing buzzing of little mosquitoes. Annoying as they may seem, these tiny creatures stir a sense of fear in us. It is November and we are still getting cases of dengue infection mainly from Karachi and Rawalpindi. Dengue infection is caused by dengue virus which has four different types circulating in blood of humans (serotypes 1-4). Serotype-5 of dengue infects non-human primates only. Dengue infection has three manifestations, namely, dengue fever (DF), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). World Health Organization (WHO) has updated case definitions for dengue infection to classical dengue and severe dengue cases. Dengue fever is febrile acute infection where the patient may or may not experience symptoms. Almost 97% of dengue infections are asymptomatic i.e., no visible symptoms appear to identify the infection. Patient may feel lethargy and fever which are vague signs to characterize this infection. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is the severe form of infection where plasma leakage occurs that can cause failure of organs and may lead to dengue shock syndrome.