More than half of 2,621 suspected dengue cases this year in Pune recorded in August: PMC data

According to data till September 3, there have been 2,621 suspected cases of dengue and close to 100 cases of chikungunya in Pune this year till now. “At least 1,062 suspected cases of dengue viral fever were detected in August itself,” Dr Wavare said. However, over all, a total of 278 cases were positive for dengue viral infection.

“We have issued more than 2,000 notices to societies, government institutions like Sassoon General Hospital and even across PMC ward offices after finding breeding spots of the aedes aegypti vector that causes dengue and have asked them why action should not be initiated against them. An administrative fee of more than Rs 1.5 lakh has been collected during the entire year of which Rs 82,350 was levied in August itself,” said Dr Wavare, adding, “Intermittent rains are also conducive for spread of these vector-borne diseases.”

A civic body official said, “Even if a small quantity of water remains stagnant in anything, be it a coconut shell or discarded tea cups, either inside or outside homes, it can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes which transmit virus-causing dengue and other vector-borne diseases.”

At KEM hospital, Dr Rajesh Gadia, consulting physician, said there are four serotypes of dengue and this year, they are noting the Dengue 1 and 3 serotypes. “Both produce a mild disease. However, we have seen a few cases of Dengue 2 in patients who are from Phaltan and Baramati and this serotype can produce complications,” Dr Gadia said.

Those with dengue fever can have multiple symptoms, including cough and itching, Dr Gadia said, adding that in August, they have admitted at least 50 patients with dengue fever.

Dr Piyush Chaudhari, infectious diseases consultant with Jehangir Hospital, pointed out that they have noted a mix of mild, moderate and severe cases of dengue fever. “We are seeing more cases this year as against the last few years,” Dr Chaudhari said adding that they are also observing HLH –(hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis — a systemic inflammatory syndrome) which is an uncommon but severe complication of dengue infection. “As per the message received from NIV, Pune is having serotype 2 as the most common one. This supports what I was also observing about- more severe cases this year,” Dr Chaudhari added.

According to Dr Amit Dravid, infectious diseases consultant with Nobel Hospital, while there has been an uptick in the number of dengue cases, they are also treating patients with suspected viral pneumonia. “There have been different viral infections this season,” he said.

42 sentinel centres across Maharashtra

Maharashtra health officials said rapid tests for dengue are not confirmatory ones and hence they have set up 42 sentinel centres across the state which have been provided with National Institute of Virology (NIV)’s diagnostic test kits for dengue.

It is important to note that the data indicates that the number of dengue cases in Maharashtra are fewer this year as against 2021. For instance, till August 31 this year, there were 2,927 confirmed cases of dengue viral infection and zero deaths in the state. However, last year, in the same time frame, there were 5,971 cases of dengue and 31 confirmed deaths due to dengue. This year, till August 31, there have been 599 cases of chikungunya. Last year, there were 1,340 cases in the same period.