Dengue shock syndrome cause of worry

Dengue deaths in recent times have been caused mostly by dengue shock syndrome, according to the government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
The symptoms of shock syndrome are bleeding and dehydration, causing the patient to lose consciousness.
IEDCR director Meerjady Sabrina, speaking to Prothom Alo, said, the dengue death review committee has so far confirmed 40 deaths, of which 27 are the result of dengue shock syndrome.

The committee observed that of these 40 persons, 6 died of dengue haemorrhagic fever which causes internal bleeding.

Last year 26 persons died of dengue, of which 9 died of dengue shock syndrome. And 16 died of dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Statistics show a change in the main cause of dengue deaths. Last year it was dengue haemorrhagic fever, this year it is dengue shock syndrome.

No one is clear so far as to why dengue shock syndrome has increased. According to IEDCR, this time the dengue DENV-3 virus is more common. The symptoms of this virus are more dangerous and complicated.

A member of the dengue death review committee, on condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo that the common trend among the patients who die of dengue shock syndrome is that they come to the hospital at the last stage.

The committee, reviewing details of 29 of the 40 persons who died of dengue, observed that 17 of them were second-time dengue patients.

IEDCR has appealed to the physicians to follow the national dengue management guidelines in treating the patients.

Meerjady Sabrina said, “A patient’s fluid management is very complicated. The guidelines provide detailed instructions about this. That is why we insist on the guidelines being followed.”

Physicians say that dengue fever leads to water accumulating in the patient’s abdomen and lungs, leading to breathing difficulties. If the patient is given proper treatment from the start and administered correct amounts of liquid, then dengue does not take on such dangerous proportions.

UGC professor ABM Abdullah of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University has been treating dengue patients since 2000. He told Prothom Alo, the condition of some patients this time has been deteriorating rapidly. That is perhaps because there are a higher number of patients with dengue for the second time.