Doctors wary about high-risk ‘repeat’ dengue

Unlike malaria,which involves a specific smear test,doctors test for dengue by counting the antibodies produced by the body. “In malaria,there are only two strains,vivax and plasmodium,and we know how each reacts. But in dengue there is no proper knowledge of the number or kinds of strains,” said Dr Pingle.

If a patient has been infected by a benign strain once,it is unlikely he will be infected by the same strain again and doctors assume the second attack is by a stronger strain,with greater virulence.

Dr Pradeep Parikh,consultant at Breach Candy Hospital,said about 2 per cent of the dengue cases he has seen in the past fortnight have been “repeats”. “About 10-15 per cent malaria patients have repeat attacks. Though repeat malaria is more common,it’s more manageable. We are being extra careful in dengue,as repeat infections are very rare and usually associated with complications.”

Dr Suresh Rang,consultant at Jaslok Hospital,said he has seen three such patients. “We try to monitor the fluid intake of the patient closely. The higher the intake,the better we can combat the drop in platelets.”

BMC executive health officer Dr GT Ambe said there was no such trend yet in BMC hospitals. “There may have been stray incidents of repeat cases,but we are monitoring the situation. So far,there have been no serious repeat dengue cases in public hospitals.”

Nine patients tested positive for dengue on Thursday in civic hospitals. The total so far this month is183 cases and one death.