At a time when the national Capital is reeling under deadly vector-borne diseases, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has reported a very rare case of co-infection of patients with chikunguyna virus and dengue virus. A senior doctor of AIIMS told The Pioneer on Friday that seven patients have been diagnosed with both dengue and chikungunya.
Expressing concern over increasing cases of dengue and chikungunya co-infection, doctors said molecular typing of the virulent virus strains needs to be done to know the exact properties of the viruses circulating these days and to prevent such outbreak.
Doctors said such cases are rare. Since both the viruses are co-circulating in the city, there is a possibility that patients might suffer from both the diseases, they added.
Dr SK Sharma, who heads internal medicine department at AIIMS, said, “Seven patients at AIIMS are diagnosed both dengue and chikungunya. In such patients, we have to be very particular on the treatment given to them.
They are being kept on close monitoring and observation.” He added that at present, AIIMS has 100 positive chikungyuna patients.
“Dengue and CHIK infection can occur concomitantly in areas where these two viruses co-circulate. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are common vectors for dengue virus and chikungunya virus. Treatment for two diseases is different. Paracetamol is a safe drug for lowering temperature in dengue patients. If NS1 antigen for dengue during first five days is negative or IgM for dengue after five days of illness is negative and the platelet count is good then non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be safely administered to relieve joint pains/swelling,” Dr Sharma told The Pioneer.
Dr Damanjit Chaddha, Director of Internal Medicine at Fortis Hospital (Vasant Kunj), said: “One of my colleagues has come across a patient with both dengue and chikungunya. Also, I have seen a dengue patient in OPD and suspected that he is infected with chikungunya virus too. His clinical tests for chikungyuna are awaited, but I am sure that he will be chikungyuna positive too.”
Dr Atul Kakar, Vice-Chairman at Internal Medicine department at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said cases with dengue/chikungunya co-infection is very rare. “However, there is a possibility of such cases in such epidemic-like situation of both the diseases in the city,” he added.
Dr lalit Dar, Professor of Microbiology at AIIMS, said in a rare situation when both the infections are transmitting, people can suffer from both dengue and chikungyuna. “We give confirmatory test in the initial first four days of the tests for dengue and chikungyuna. But, yes it happens,” he said.
As vector borne diseases, dengue and chikungyuna have taken a shape of epidemic in the national Capital, a top medical scientist says that molecular typing of the virulent virus strains needs to done to know the exact properties of the viruses circulating these days.
Till now, dengue has four strains and chikungyunya has only one virus strain (RNA virus), but medical scientist suspect any other genesis of virus for chikungyuna, which has claimed at least 12 lives in Delhi.
Dr Ekta Gupta, professor of Virology at Institute of liver and Biliary Sciences (IlBS) told The Pioneer, “The way people are getting infected by dengue and chikungyuna, it is most important that molecular typing of the virulent virus strains needs to be done. At our hospital, 30 percent of patients are diagnosed with dengue and chikungunya suffering with liver disorder. Most of them have the same symptom of both the vector disease, but their test comes negative.”
Dr lalit Dar also expressed similar views.