'Dengue a 'multi-organ' threat'

Doctors have been advised to treat dengue much more seriously than has been the case so far.

The Bangladesh Society for Medicine, an organisation of specialists, warned doctors and medical students of Sir Salimullah Medical College (SSMC) on Sunday that dengue is a “multi-organ” threat capable of causing much more complications than bleeding.

The mosquito-borne viral disease can affect brain as well as the liver, Dr Md Titu Miah, an associate professor of Dhaka Medical College and scientific secretary of the Bangladesh Society of Medicine told bdnews24.com.

He said the Society had organised a seminar with the SSMC medicine department to make doctors and medical students are aware of the full dimension of viral diseases, especially after the spread of the recent West African deadly virus Ebola and other mosquito-borne diseases.

Bangladesh is so far free of Ebola virus and experts see a “remote possibility” of it travelling to Bangladesh.

But mosquito-borne diseases like dengue were a world-wide concern that prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to focus on it on this year’s health day on Apr 7.

Bangladesh suffers from six mosquito-borne diseases that include malaria, kala-azar, filariasis, and Japanese encephalitis, dengue and Chikungunya.

Most of them remain endemic in different parts of the country.

The Society of Medicine organises seminars jointly with different medical colleges to make doctors aware of the latest diseases and how to treat and manage it.

Prof MA Faiz, Dr Rabed Amin and Dr Matiur Rahman presented papers on Ebola and other mosquito-borne diseases on Sunday.

Head of the Dhaka Medical College medicine department Prof HAM Nazmul Ahasan was also present.

Dr Titu Miah said they had mainly focused on mosquito-borne illness and its management.

Usually known as bone-break fever for the severe muscle and joint pains it causes, dengue can be fatal when it assumes a more severe form causing bleeding.

But now doctors in Bangladesh’s hospitals are getting patients with dengue who suffer not just bleeding but ‘multi-organ’ failure.

The brain and liver are particularly susceptible to dengue, doctors have found.

The seminar also advised doctors to hospitalise dengue patients when they report bleeding, lower platelet counts and depleting body fluids

Dengue patients sometimes suffer shock due to fluid depletion.

But the seminar told doctors to be careful during resuscitating.

They have been advised to decrease the flow of fluids after 24 to 48 hours when the patient gets recharged “to avoid overloading”.

Health officials focus on prevention by asking people to avoid mosquito bites, as there is no specific treatment available for dengue.