Gurgaon: Dengue cases are beginning to pick up in the city. The tally of confirmed cases stood at 15 by Monday, following two recent cases.In the city, doctors said they are seeing dengue patients regularly and some with more advanced symptoms, though “most cases so far remain mild” and are responding to supportive treatment.Across Haryana, 105 dengue cases had been confirmed till date. Of these, 66 were reported by govt hospitals and 39 by private hospitals. Jhajjar had the highest cumulative count at 24, followed by the city, Karnal at 10 and Sonipat at eight.“While the number of dengue cases is rising day by day following the monsoon, we are yet to come across very severe cases — such as dengue shock syndrome or ARDS — this year,” director and senior consultant of internal medicine at Narayana Hospital Dr MK Singh told TOI.Singh said most patients had mild dengue, presenting initially with high fever and low platelet counts. Such patients generally recover with supportive care and adequate oral fluids, he said. However, “a few complicated cases” have also been seen, including patients with very severe thrombocytopenia, or critically low platelet counts, requiring platelet transfusion. He also reported fluid accumulation in body cavities, including the pleural or abdominal cavity.At Max Hospital in the city, doctors are seeing more patients with advanced symptoms, although severe disease remains limited.“More patients this season have come in with more advanced symptoms and signs of dengue,” said senior consultant of internal medicine at Max Hospital Dr Shivam Sharma. He said many patients recover with timely diagnosis, proper hydration and care, but need to be monitored for warning signs.Sharma said the hospital is currently seeing around one dengue patient a day on average in its OPD. Patients commonly show high-grade fever, headache and pain behind the eyes, while severe body and joint pain, weakness, nausea or vomiting and occasionally skin rash may also occur.He said continuous vomiting, severe stomach pain, bleeding, severe weakness and difficulty breathing should be treated as warning signs that could indicate progression to severe dengue. Patients with persistent fever or warning signs should seek medical consultation rather than self-medicate, he said.At Manipal Hospital in the city, doctors said the increase compared with last year has so far been modest.“In comparison to last year, till now, the percentage has not been too much high. It is just hardly 4 to 5% cases that we have seen the rise in comparison with last year,” said HOD and consultant, internal medicine, Manipal Hospital, Dr Amitabha Ghosh.He said the hospital is currently seeing an average of four to five newly diagnosed dengue cases a week in the area.According to Ghosh, most patients have the classical symptoms of dengue, including high fever for the first three to four days, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Some patients also report diarrhoea.“There are no such serious cases till now except only one serious case of dengue we have met. Apart from that, they are all classical simple dengue fever,” he said.Treatment in most cases remains symptomatic, including paracetamol for fever, adequate hydration and monitoring for warning signs such as persistent vomiting and severe abdominal pain, Ghosh said.He also stressed the importance of personal protection from mosquitoes and preventing waterlogging.The state reported nine fresh dengue cases, taking its cumulative count to 105. Two patients were hospitalised at the time, while 42 patients who had earlier required admission had been discharged. Another 61 were treated in OPDs without requiring hospitalisation. No confirmed dengue death had been reported so far.The state tested 39,054 dengue samples so far, including 449 samples collected during the day. There are 27 dengue testing laboratories in Haryana, with at least one in every district, while blood sampling has also been started at CHC and PHC level, particularly in high-risk areas.The health department has also intensified mosquito-breeding source reduction. Till June 30, 1.5 crore house visits were conducted across Haryana, with mosquito larvae found in 17,113 houses.The department said Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits dengue, breeds in clean stagnant water in coolers, overhead tanks, flower pots, discarded tyres, plastic containers, refrigerator trays and other places where rainwater collects.The state has kept 267 wards and 1,070 beds reserved in civil hospitals and CHCs/PHCs for dengue patients. Private hospitals and laboratories have also been restricted to charging a maximum of Rs 600 for the recommended ELISA-based NS1/IgM dengue test.
