Sero-epidemiological trends of dengue fever in Jammu province of J&K State

Dengue, an arthropod-borne arboviral disease is becoming a major public health concern, both in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In view of exponential increase in dengue positive cases reported in 2013, this study to follow the emerging trends of the disease over a period of five years from 2011 to 2015 was planned. The laboratory records of clinically suspected Dengue patients from 2011 to 2015 were analyzed retrospectively for the results of IgM anti dengue antibodies tested by Dengue IgM capture ELISA (MAC ELISA) along with demographic features, and seasonal variations. A total of five thousand nine hundred fifty (5950) samples from patients suspected of dengue infection were received and screened for the presence of dengue specific IgM antibodies.1891/5950 (31.78%)of the samples were found to be positive. The association between serum samples and different age groups was found to be highly significant (p=0.0000). Dengue infection has recently become an endemic disease in this region occurring annually. In absence of specific treatment and vaccine for dengue fever (DF), early diagnosis is important in management of infection. This also demands continuous seroepidemiological surveillance for the timely formulation and implementation of effective dengue control programme. Moreover, serological crossreactivity with other Flaviviruses was unexpected in Jammu, for their absence.