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Seroprevalence and Trend of Dengue Cases Admitted to a Government Hospital,
Delhi 5-Year Study (2006-2010): A Look into the Age Shift
Yukti Sharma, Mandeep Kaur, Sompal Singh, Leela Pant, Madhur Kudesia, Sanjay Jain
Department of Pathology, Hindu Rao Hospital,
Delhi, India
Correspondence to:
Dr. Yukti Sharma,
272 SFS DDA Flats,
Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi-110009, India.
E-mail: dryukti2006@yahoo.com
Date of Submission: May 16, 2011
Date of Acceptance: Dec 2, 2011
How to cite this article: Sharma Y, Kaur M, Singh S,
Pant L, Kudesia M, Jain S. Seroprevalence and trend
of dengue cases admitted to a government hospital,
Delhi 5-year study (2006-2010): A look into the age shift.
Int J Prev Med 2012;3:537-43.
International Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol 3, No 8, August, 2012
ABSTRACT
Background: Diagnosis of dengue infection is easily and best
accomplished by demonstration of specific IgM antibodies in
blood. We analyzed retrospectively the dengue IgM seropositivity
available for samples obtained over a period of 5 years (2006
2010) from patients with suspected dengue fever (DF)-like illness
to investigate whether there was an overall increase in the dengue
IgM prevalence over this period.
Methods: Blood samples were collected from patients with DF-
like febrile illnesses attending the Pediatric, Medicine, and Fever
clinics of a Government hospital, Delhi. A total of 8138 individuals
(suspected dengue cases) obtained over 5 years were tested for
Original Article
dengue specific IgM antibodies. Year wise, month wise, and age
wise data on geographic distribution and clinical manifestations
were analyzed.
Results: Of the 8138 samples, 1600 (19.66%) were positive for
dengue specific IgM. The year 2006 had the highest number of
reported cases, 761 (46.23%). In our study, the age group most
commonly affected of all 5 years was 1120 years. Out of the total
1600 cases admitted to the hospital between 2006 and 2010, 279
(58.9%) had DF, 178 (37.6%) had dengue hemorrhagic fever, and
16 (3.38%) had dengue shock syndrome. We found a high burden
of dengue in young children and late adolescents in both rural
and urban communities at a magnitude greater than previously
described.
Interpretation and Conclusion: We observed an increase in the
dengue positive cases every alternate year, thereby indicating a
possible role of herd immunity in northern India. We did not find
a steady increase in the number of cases over 5 years. We found
an increase in the number of positive cases in children and young
adolescents.
Key words: Delhi, dengue infection, herd immunity
INTRODUCTION
Dengue is emerging as an important mosquito-borne arboviral
disease in the world. Once known to occur sporadically, epidemics
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