First outbreak of dengue fever in East Sikkim in Northeastern part of India

Karma Doma Bhutia; Sangey Chhophel Lamtha

doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_397_18

First outbreak of dengue fever in East Sikkim in Northeastern part of India

J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Mar;8(3):1007-1010. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_397_18.

Authors

Karma Doma Bhutia¹, Sangey Chhophel Lamtha²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Sir Thutop Namgyal Memorial Hospital, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim, India.
² Department of Gastroenterology, Central Referral Hospital, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Sikkim Manipal University, 5th Mile, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim, India.

Abstract

Background: Dengue viruses, single-stranded positive polarity ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses of the family Flaviviridae, are the most common cause of arboviral disease in the world and has turned this disease into a serious public health problem.

Aims: To study retrospectively the incidence of laboratory confirmed dengue cases among the clinically suspected patients, the clinical profile of dengue-positive cases, and to co-relate with the environmental conditions.

Materials and methods: Five hundred and eighty blood sample was collected in the microbiology laboratory of district hospital Singtam, from clinically suspected cases of dengue infection, from 22^nd August 2013 till 30^th November 2013 for rapid dengue kit test initially followed by confirmation test by Immunoglobulin M (IgM) capture ELISA test.

Conclusions: Fever with myalgia should be evaluated for Dengue fever (DF) in Sikkim, northeastern part of India. We also report the first outbreak of dengue fever in the east district (Singtam) of Sikkim.

Keywords: Dengue fever; Dengue haemorrhagic fever; ribonucleic acid.