Serological profile of dengue fever in a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: Dengue fever is one of the emerging infectious diseases which cause significant morbidity and mortality in children and adults especially in developing countries. According to World Health Organization two fifths of the world population is at risk from dengue disease and every year 50 million dengue virus infections are suspected world over. Aim: To know the serological profile of dengue infection in our area in different age groups. Material and Methods: It is a retrospective study. Serum samples from 563 acute febrile illness cases were subjected for detection of dengue sero markers: NS1, Ig M & Ig G by immuno-chromatographic method (J. Mitra diagnostics Ltd). Results: More than 55% of cases were from the age group of 01 – 20 years. 2.8% of samples from OP cases (285) and 11.5% of samples from IP cases (278) were sero positive. As a total sero positivity of dengue was almost equal in both genders. But NS1 antigen seropositivity was high among females. Out of 39 sero positives, 22 were positive for NS1 antigen (9 in males & 13 in females) followed by 12 for IgM (6 in males & 6 in females), three for both antibodies (3 in males) and two IgG (one in each gender). Conclusions: Seropositivity was more in IP cases. Laboratory diagnosis is important in differentiating primary and secondary infection which helps clinicians to anticipate complications of dengue.