Thiruvananthapuram: The ambitious and much-hyped study to explore the epidemiology of dengue fever in Kerala taken up by the Directorate of Health Services with the technical support of World Health Organisation (WHO) has been temporarily stalled due to lack of case studies.
The study, which is the first of its kind, was taken up by the community medicine wing of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College following a major dengue outbreak in the state in 2017.
According to researchers they are unable to pursue the study due to lack of dengue cases being reported in the state.
"We were planning to study a minimum of 500 dengue patients and record the health issues they face from day 1 of the inception of the disease. The number of cases declined, and the study got dragged on further. Later, the flood happened, and the study got delayed again," said the official.
In 2017, a total of 21,993 dengue cases and 165 dengue deaths were reported in the state. Currently, there is no outbreak situation in the state.
"Only a few cases are being reported, and most of them come to the Medical College Hospital after several days of treatment from other hospitals," said the official.
The community medicine wing is hoping to finish the study at least by October this year.
"We have landed in a fix because of this, and we are hoping to finish the study at least by October. This monsoon there is likely to be a spike in dengue cases, and we have decided to confine the number of studies to a minimum of 200 to ensure the completion of the study," said the official.
The study aims at coming up with strategies to control a dengue outbreak in the state in the future. In 2018, a total of 4090 dengue cases and 32 dengue deaths were reported in the state. While in 2019 so far, around 284 dengue cases and three deaths were reported.
