more-in Thiruvananthapuram Initial data from Phase I of an epidemiological study on dengue fever in Kerala , launched by the Department of Community Medicine, Govt Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (GMCT), in partnership with the World Health Organisation, has reported a dengue sero prevalence rate close to 42 % in children between 9-12 years in Thiruvananthapuram district. The sero prevalence among 5-8 -year-olds in a group from SAT Hospital was found to be 27 %. This is the first scientific study to be launched in Kerala, exploring the epidemiology of dengue in the State, so that evidence-based strategies can be developed to tackle future outbreaks. The data was presented before a visiting WHO team from Geneva here on Thursday for further deliberations Dengue sero prevalence (detection of dengue-specific immunoglobulin G or IgG antibodies in blood samples) indicates the rate of previous dengue exposure and is an indicator of the intensity of dengue transmission in a community/locality. “We expect the sero prevalence in adults to be much higher. The fact that 42 % of children are already infected by dengue virus by the time they are nine years of age is a matter of concern because these children would be at a higher risk during another dengue epidemic when a different sero type of the virus may be in circulation. Already, three dengue virus types (DEN 1, 2 and 4) are endemic in Thiruvananthapuram while all four types are circulating in Kerala,” points out Indu P. S.,Professor and Head, Community Medicine department. In certain high dengue burden clusters in Thiruvananthapuram -- Nemom and Vilavoorkal -- the sero prevalence among children was as high as 60%. Even in the so-called low-burden clusters like Karakulam, the sero prevalence rate was 32 %, indicating that the picture in Thiruvananthapuram is quite worrying. “More worrying is the fact that most of these children/families were unaware that they had already contracted dengue because they must have had sub-clinical infections. They could miss the implication of a second dengue infection. Globally too, 80 % of dengue cases are asymptomatic,” Dr. Indu says. The study, launched in 2017 November, is expected to be carried out in two more districts, Kollam and Kozhikode. Phase I of the study involved school-based surveillance studies for assessing community-level dengue sero prevalence amongst 9-12-year-olds . In Thiruvananthapuram, some 1,400-odd children were studied. In Phase II, which is to be launched soon, a cohort of 500 dengue patients (who have been found to be positive through PCR test) will be followed up for a period to study the clinical, biochemical, immunological and virological determinants or predictors of future dengue infections A group of clinicians from specialities such as Medicine, Neurology, Cardiology and Nephrology are working together to develop tools for collecting data and for fine tuning clinical protocols. The Directorate of Health Services, the Depts of Microbiology and Paediatrics, GMCT; Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, State Public Health Lab and ICMR’s Vector Control Research Centre are tehntechnical collaborators. EOM

Stay updated with all the Latest Thiruvananthapuram headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.