Dengue Havoc In Kolkata: Newborn Catches Dengue from Mom in Rarest of Rare Vertical Transmission

Unlike adults, newborns are known to be not very immunologically reactive. So the newborn was mostly asymptomatic.

Kolkata: In a rare instance of vertical transmission, a baby born to a woman who was suffering from Dengue tested NS 1 positive shortly after birth. According to the reports, both the newborn and the mother were discharged from the hospital on Sunday, and are currently doing well.

Vertical transmission is widespread in mosquitoes but extremely uncommon in people, according to experts in infectious illnesses. Speaking to the media, hospital officials said that the 29-year new mother hailing from Lake Town was admitted to Charnock Hospital on September 9 with dengue fever. Her platelet count continued to decline while she was receiving treatment, which was recognised by the doctors. And at that very moment, it fell straight to 40,000. The woman afterwards experienced a membrane rupture, which prompted the doctors to perform an urgent C-section.

Since she belongs to the RH-negative blood group, the cord blood was subjected to a few tests as a protocol and doctors also tested it for dengue, which came out positive. “We immediately took the baby to the NICU for intense monitoring. Another sample from the newborn’s peripheral blood also tested positive for NS1,” said paediatrician Sovana Haque.

What Makes Dengue Worrisome?

Dengue is a vector-borne disease which is spread via infected mosquitoes from the Aedes family. The infection can cause a range of symptoms (mild to severe), including fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, rash, and nausea. In severe cases, dengue can lead to bleeding, organ failure, sudden drop in platelet count, brain damage, and even death.

There are several reasons why dengue is so worrisome, these include:

It is a global health problem.
There is still no cure for dengue.
There is no vaccine to protect a person from catching dengue virus.
The virus is still evolving, giving rise to new variants with added unique features.

Overall, dengue is a dangerous and alarming illness. The virus is mutating and spreading to new places, yet there is neither a treatment nor a vaccination. It’s critical to be informed about the dangers of dengue and to take precautions against mosquito bites.