THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Can a person who already got Dengue and recovered from the viral illness, get infected again? The doctors opine that this can happen, and a person can get Dengue multiple times, as there are multiple variants of the virus, and one variant is different from the other.
The consultant physician at Manipal Hospital Goa, Dr Vikram Dalvi, MD Medicine, FNBE Critical Care, stated that the immunity provided by Dengue infection is short lasting...for about three months. “After that a patient can get re-infection (it is not called relapse). Re-infection is likely to be worse than previous infection. Re-infection can happen multiple times. The only way to prevent it is, prevention of mosquito bite by various means,” said Dr Dalvi.
Consultant physician from Panaji Dr Ruphino Monteiro explains, “There are four strains of Dengue. Once anyone gets Dengue specific care should be taken while receiving treatment. The person develops immunity to the specific type of virus for their lifetime and they do not get re-infection, unless the same person gets infected by another strain of Dengue. This second type of virus could be more server as it is different in structure. The symptoms of Dengue are the same in all strains, but the severity may vary.”
Dr Monteiro adds, “Anybody and everybody can get Dengue. It is also called bone-braking fever. Normally the fever comes with body ache and is very painful. It remains for 5-6 days and then subsides. The virus comes through the mosquito bite, and the fever is not infectious like Malaria. There is no secondary infection.”
However, the dangerous part is the decrease in the count of platelets, points out Dr Monteiro. “This does not happen with every person, but in majority of cases, the count goes down. It is severe in some patients. So, the platelet count should be regularly checked, once the fever goes down, especially if it’s below 50,000. The normal platelet count should be 1.5 lakh. Certain medications bring the platelet count to normal,” he said.
The platelets prevent bleeding and help wounds heal. To prevent the platelets from going down, there should be a lot of hydration, especially if the patient is elderly or a child. Dehydration can lead to kidney issues, and haemorrhage anywhere in the body. Beginning with skin, with the purple spots, there can be bleeding in the gums, stomach, piles and lastly in the brain. To prevent this, platelet transfusion is the remedy. In severe cases, injections are given to raise the platelet count. Overall, the death count is very less in Dengue, as the cases can be managed well, if treated in time, said Dr Monteiro.
Speaking on the re-infection of Dengue in a patient, Dr Mahadev Pokale, MD in Internal Medicine and consultant at Manipal Hospitals Goa shared, “As Dengue could be due to any one of the multiple variants, there is no cross immunity. A person who had Dengue from one type of variant, can get Dengue again if he/she is infected with another type of variant. The person can even get Dengue immediately or soon after recovering from one variant. There is no connection between these variants, and each time it is like a new disease. This illness is caused due to virus that gets transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Other species within the Aedes genus can also act as vectors, but their contribution is normally secondary to Aedes aegypti.”
Dengue can affect any age group, and if the person is weak, the rate of deterioration of health is faster, said Dr Pokale. Suggesting diet for the Dengue patient, he added, “The diet should be in liquid form, soupy, if it is non-vegetarian like chicken or mutton. If the diet is solid, it should mainly be vegetarian, dal, rice, leafy vegetables and green chillies.”
