Twin six-year-olds died due to dengue fever in Chennai’s Institute of Child Health on Monday morning. The twins, who had been admitted a few days prior, were undergoing treatment for dengue fever after presenting positive for the same.
“The two were being administered all necessary treatment and medication, but they began presenting with signs of complication which resulted in their deaths,” stated Dr Arasar Seeralar, the hospital’s director. “One child presented with dengue shock and was in a very severe condition. The second child too subsequently presented with dengue shock as well as haemorrhage.”
Dengue fever, also known as ‘break bone fever,’ is a mosquito-borne disease which is caused by one of four types of the dengue virus. It should be noted that a normal spike in the number of positive dengue cases is normally seen during the rainy season. Officials have made it clear that this year, the numbers are significantly less than the rates of dengue last year. Dengue shock syndrome is a complication of dengue fever usually seen in children under the age of 10. Symptoms they may present with include stomach pain, bleeding tendencies, and circulatory shock.
When a person has dengue haemorrhage, there may be a lot of bleeding tendencies. Those with dengue fever will commonly show symptoms of high fever, headache, immense joint aches, nausea and vomiting.
There can be complications in dengue fever, which is often the cause for death.
“Generally if someone is presenting with fever for three days or more, we recommend that they get certain blood tests done to diagnose the cause. Often times it may just be a viral fever, but it can also be something else. If needed we may also recommend that the person get admitted,” added Dr Arasar.
Whether a person who is found to be positive for dengue gets admitted or not, he states that it is important that the person takes in plenty of fluids to ensure that none of the complications set in.
“For children, we recommend that they take enough water or fluids of any sort to result in them passing urine at least six times a day. This will help combat any complications that may occur,” he said.
He also adds that one should monitor children for warning signs that may indicate that they may be going into a complicated stage. These include persistent headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, or even extreme lethargy.
“Many times, if the fever breaks by day three, parents become convinced that the child is okay, rather than viewing it as the fever has disappeared. We need to look at it as the time that complications may set in and monitor them closely,” he stated.
As of Tuesday, 50 positive cases have been reported since January this year, according to Health Department officials. A total of four people have died due to dengue fever in the state.