Top health experts say that ‘Chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease’ at all until and unless one is suffering from co-morbid condition such as diabetes, heart ailments, kidney disease or brain-related disorders which can put life at risk.
In the five recent Chikungunya deaths reported in the national Capital, all the patients were suffering from co-morbid conditions which triggered their inflammatory cascade damaging healthy tissues and making immune response weak to fight against the disease.
Dr Atul Kakar, Vice-Chairman of Internal Medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said: “Only in co-morbidity, there is a risk of life in chikungunya. Otherwise, patients only suffer fever and prolong joint pain. We have two patients between 50-60 years of age, who are suffering from renal diseases and chikungyuna too. They are on close monitoring in ICU.”
Dr Rommel Tickoo, who heads the internal medicine department at Max Hospital (Saket), said, “I have seen patients with neurological disorder and chikungyunya at the same time. They patients were put under proper medication and spent back their homes. In some cases, there can be fatality, not in all. Mostly, in elderly patients, chikungunya can be fatal,” he said.
Dr Chand Wattal, microbiologist at Ganga Ram, said, “From the past experience, we have seen chikungunya is not fatal. However, this year, at our labs we have seen positive PCR tests with classical clinical symptoms. The present evidence suggests that chikungunya can be fatal in rare case and in co-morbid conditions.”
He added that this year, lots of people are suffering from viral infection. “We have to keep our eyes and mind open, what has changed. What properties have viruses are showing this timeIJ”