Dengue infection lasts 10-12 days, say doctors amid surging cases in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: With dengue cases rapidly surging past the 1,000 mark in three weeks, doctors have found that the infection that typically lasts for four to seven days persists for 10 to 12 days.

Dengue causes high temperature with severe body ache, pain in the eyes, and joint aches, while diarrhoea, nausea, gastrointestinal troubles, and rashes are also typical symptoms.

Dr Manoj Kumar H V, Director and Dean, Bowring Hospital, said many of the dengue cases are treated at home without much complication. He also added that no severe cases have yet been reported at Bowring.

Dr R Srinivasa, Resident Medical Officer, Victoria Hospital, said patients have been advised to get themselves admitted at the hospital when the platelet count falls drastically.

“(Dengue virus) can multiply through ovarian transmission or transmission of the virus to the offspring when the infected mosquito breeds,” he said, explaining how the virus spreads. “We must, at any cost, avoid stagnation of fresh water to prevent formation of mosquito breeding grounds.”

He added that a two-pronged approach — eliminating mosquito breeding grounds through anti-larval measures and using avoidance mechanisms like mosquito repellent creams and long-sleeved clothing — is crucial.

Dr Sambashiva AC, Medical Director and General Physician, Sree Lakshmi Hospital (CV Raman Nagar, Kaggadasapura), said patients can bleed in their mouth or experience black stool, a sign they are bleeding in gastrointestinal tracts, if the dengue infection gets complicated. “The complication is not very common, but not unlikely,” he said.

Doctors warn that stagnant fresh water is a breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti, a known transmitter of the dengue virus. They advise maximum mosquito control and measures to avoid being bitten by them, particularly during the day when dengue mosquitos are active.

Frequent change of water in aquariums, refrigerators, washing machines and indoor water plants are essential to ensure the virus does not compound exponentially through larvae, Dr Sambashiva said, adding that an infected person must avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes again to stop further ailments.

Private practitioners DH spoke to said they treat three to five patients with dengue-like symptoms in a day.

BBMP’s action plan  

1) Conduct awareness drives 

2) House-to-house larva survey 

3) Spraying and fogging 

4) Fever surveillance (samples from symptomatic cases are sent to H Siddaiah Road Referral Hospital)