71% of dengue-infected children at Shishu Hospital had 'danger signs': Study

Highlights:

• Of the children admitted to Bangladesh Shishu Hospital with dengue, 87% were infected with den-2 strain
• The remaining 13% were infected with den-3 strain
• The study was conducted on 722 children out of 1,039 admitted with dengue between June and August this year

A whopping 71% of the children admitted to the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Research Institute in Dhaka for dengue showed "danger signs", according to a new study published on Saturday.

These symptoms include belly pain, tenderness, vomiting (at least three times in 24 hours), bleeding from the nose or gums, vomiting blood or blood in the stool, and feeling tired, restless, or irritable.

Of the hospitalised children, 87% were infected with the den-2 strain, while the remaining 13% had the den-3 strain, said Professor Dr Md Jahangir Alam, who headed the study, while presenting the findings at an event at the hospital's auditorium.

Professor Jahangir Alam, who is also director of the hospital, said the study was conducted on 722 children out of 1,039 admitted with dengue between June and August this year.

Blood and nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 50 admitted patients who exhibited symptoms of dengue virus infection but tested negative for NS1 and IgM. These samples were tested at the icddr,b laboratory.

The study revealed that among the 50 NS-1 and IgM negative samples, 17, or 34%, were false negatives as determined by the RT-PCR test. 

Additionally, 19% of patients who tested negative for dengue and 12% of patients who tested positive for dengue were found to be infected with other viruses, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

At the programme, Professor Dr Tahmina Shirin, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research, said people are being infected with new types of dengue every year. Children whose condition worsens may also have a second infection.

"So we have to pay special attention to children. Not only dengue patients, but dengue symptoms should be given more importance because children get sick very quickly with dengue," he added.

Professor Jahangir Alam said, "We have to think separately about children with dengue. This time, so many patients have died of dengue. One of the reasons may be the second type of strain. It is a dangerous stereotype."

He said dengue infection usually continues from June to November. But it is especially high in the months of August and September. For this reason, preparations should be made in January.

In 2019, an official of the World Health Organisation visited Bangladesh and made 19 recommendations for the government to consider for dengue prevention.