Mosquitoes mutate to carry ‘dangerous’ virus

According to him,this time dengue is affecting major organs of the body like liver,pancreas,and kidney. “Mutation (of vectors) is responsible for this two strains of dengue virus becoming more strong,” he added.

A study by the National Institute for Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) also confirmed the same. The study found that of every 1,000 residents of the city,who were infected over the past one month,as many as 23 were affected by either Type-1 or Type-4. “This is a very high rate of prevalence,comparable to other hyper endemic countries like Thailand,Columbia,Nicaragua and some other Latin American locations,” said a scientist at the institute.

The NICED study,which surveyed 30,000 people with high fever across the city,also found a distinct change in the pattern of infection this year. But they are yet to confirm whether any new sub type of dengue virus has also come up. “Last year,we had detected only Type-2 and Type-3 virus,but this time,Type-1 and Type-4 have also been found. This is the first instance of these two strains triggering a dengue outbreak in the city in recent years,” said Sekhar Chakraborty,Director of NICED.

City doctors endorsed the NICED findings saying the extent as well as the severity of dengue this season has been more as compared to previous years. Going by the statistics of the health department,in the past one month more than 300 positive cases of dengue were reported that resulted in four deaths till now.

Dr Subroto Moitra,critical care specialist,said the need of the hour is continuous monitoring as dengue is now affecting liver pancreas and kidney,which was not the case in the past two years.

Amitabha Nandy,a doctor with the School of Tropical Medicine,said Type-1 and Type-4 dengue strains were the “major cause” of the outbreak. “Each type of dengue produces partial immunity in the human population of a particular area. If another type comes in,complications arise,” Nandy added.