Journal of Infection and Public Health (Sep 2017)

Impediments of reporting dengue cases in India

  • Sushmita Das,
  • Asim Sarfraz,
  • Nitesh Jaiswal,
  • Pradeep Das

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2017.02.004
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 5
pp. 494 – 498

Abstract

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Dengue has emerged as one of the most important mosquito-borne, fatal flaviviral disease, apparently expanding as a global health problem. An estimated 3.6 billion people are at risk for dengue, with 50 million infections per year occurring across 100 countries globally. The annual number of dengue fever cases in India is many times higher than it is officially reported. This under reporting would play a major role in the government’s decision-making. Underestimating of the disease in India encumbers its people from taking preventive measures, discourages efforts to ensnare the sources of the disease and deliberates efforts for vaccine research. In this article, we highlight the probable impediments of under reporting leading to its impact on national and global public health and also offer key remedies to effectively address the issues across the clinics to the community level. Keywords: Dengue, Under-reporting, Surveillance, Vaccine