Though the number of dengue cases in Gurgaon this year is few, the nature of “seasonal viral” affecting residents this year is quite different from the previous years with a multi-fold increase in the number of patients with high fever accompanied with joint pain.
Gurgaon Chief Medical Officer Ramesh Dhankar told The Hindu that only 31 cases of dengue were reported in Gurgaon so far compared to more than 150 cases by September last year.
He, however, said there was an increase in the number of patients with high fever accompanied with joint pain.
“Though only one case of dengue has been confirmed at the Civil Hospital here, there is sudden rush of patients with high fever and pain in joints. I myself attend 250-300 such patients every day. We have no record to conclusively say that it is chikungunya as no such test is available in the Civil Hospital. But the symptoms suggest that it could be chikungunya. Last year, only 1 to 2 cases of such fever were reported,” said Civil Hospital Principal Medical Officer Kanta Goyal.
The first official chikungunya diagnosis was confirmed at the Civil Hospital on Saturday. The patient is from Bihar who works in Gurgaon. Most doctors in private hospitals also said that there is a rise in the number of cases of fever. Paras Hospital Internal Medicine senior consultant Rajesh Kumar said patients with complaints of high fever and joint pains had increased tremendously.
