Kerala is battling yet another epidemic season when dengue and leptospirosis cases soar and hospitals buckle under the sheer number of patients that fill up fever wards and crowd outpatient clinics.
The State escaped this annual phenomenon during the pandemic years 2020-22. But given the cyclical pattern in which major dengue outbreaks occur (the State had two major dengue outbreaks in 2013 and 2017), health experts expect that this year’s outbreak could overwhelm the State, not just by case numbers but by increased severity and mortality.
The first recorded cases of dengue fever and associated deaths — 14 cases and 4 deaths — in Kerala were reported from Kottayam in the year 1997. The State has been hyperendemic for all four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV) for the past two decades or more, meaning that all four serotypes are in circulation in the State throughout the year. Historically, however, the surge in cases has been due to DENV 1 and DENV 2.
