Ento-epidemiological characterization of Dengue in Uttarakhand (India)

OBJECTIVES: Dengue/Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is the most rapidly spreading vector-borne infection all over the world. Uttarakhand (India) is the prime destination for national and international tourists. Here we assessed the epidemiological characteristics and entomological parameters of dengue/DHF in Uttarakhand (India) using in-depth statistical methods to measure risk of dengue epidemics. METHODS: we surveyed total 11 localities each in Nainital and Dehradun districts and calculated different entomological indices and analyzed epidemiological characteristics of Dengue in these areas. RESULTS: There was an epidemic of dengue during 2010 with total 4140 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases, about 5347% increase of cases compared to preceding years. Out of six dengue-prone districts of Uttarakhand, Nainital and Dehradun were the worst affected districts during this epidemic (Nainital = 862 and Dehradun = 2913; Total = 3775 cases), an incidence rate of 142.5 per 100000 population. The incidence rate in male (169.9 per 100000) is higher than in female (112.3 per 100000) and dengue cases were predominant in the age group 21-30 years. Dehradun (77% of total cases) was more dengue prone area than Nainital. However, all entomological indices are relatively higher in Nainital than Dehradun. Nevertheless, this difference in the indices is not significant (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, we hypothesize that the epidemic intensity or severity of 2010-dengue outbreak in Nainital and Dehradun are independent of entomological indices.