A recent study by doctors from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and NIMHANS has found a striking predominance of dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3) in Bengaluru between April and July this year, when the disease was at its peak. The study was published in The Lancet last week. The number of dengue cases this year touched 27,490 as of Tuesday, the highest ever in Karnataka.
As many as 12 dengue deaths were recorded this year of which three are from BBMP limits. Early this month Karnataka notified dengue as an epidemic . However, the number of cases have been declining in the last fortnight.
Dengue virus (DENV) has four serotypes, and is transmitted to humans by the day-biting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. While some studies indicate that particular DENV strains are more virulent than others, doctors said a secondary infection in dengue patients determines the severity of the disease. Samples from eight zones To assess the current serotype distribution in Bengaluru, doctors analysed 1,600 samples from acute febrile illness patients across all eight zones of urban Bengaluru (East, South, West, Bommanahalli, Dasarahalli, Mahadevapura, Rajarajeshwarinagar, and Yelahanka).
Samples were collected through health centres under BBMP during the outbreak between April and July 2024 and tested at the civic body’s sentinel laboratory in H. Siddaiah Referral Hospital. Of these, 549 (34.
3%) tested positive for dengue NS1 antigen and/or anti-dengue IgM by ELISA., said Shruthi Uppoor, con.