Hundreds of thousands of dengue cases are reported worldwide each year. Given the difficulty in full reporting, the actual number of human infections is probably much higher than the number reported. Dengue is usually a nonspecific febrile illness that resolves with supportive therapy but the clinical spectrum ranges from asymptomatic infection through severe hemorrhage and sudden fatal shock into expanded dengue syndrome. The pathophysiology of the severe forms of dengue may be related to sequential infection with different serotypes, variations in virus virulence, interaction of the virus with environmental and host factors, or a combination of these factors. Control of dengue at the present time is dependent on control of the principal vector mosquito, A. aegypti. Vaccine development continues, but at present the only way to avoid dengue in an area where it is endemic or epidemic is to use repellents and mosquito barriers. The movement of people to and from tropical areas makes dengue an important differential diagnosis in any patient with an acute illness and history of recent travel to tropical areas. Recently, the disease is clearly documented to have re-emerged on this subcontinent but, with an expanded spectrum of clinical manifestations and complications, as observed in clinical experience. There are also regional differences in the clinical spectrum observed within India, probably due to antigenic variation of the organism. Therefore, it is important to study the demographical factors contributing to the disease occurrence, clinical presentations including their variability, laboratory details, treatment particulars and outcomes of the dengue fever in this region. This will improve the knowledge on this expanding clinical syndrome in our region.

Scope of the project:

This is intended to develop preliminary Indian current data on the various aspects of course of illness of dengue fever. There seems to have a good scope to optimize and improve the existing practice in the current empirical antibiotic era. The atypical manifestations will be described and predictors of mortality will be identified. Largely, the database of dengue will be created for this region and it will help in planning many future studies.