Cause of many fever-related illnesses unknown: medical experts

No specific cause could be attributed to a number of recent cases of fever-related illnesses in the country, medical experts said.

Addressing the 4th Medicon International 2017 here yesterday, medical professionals also discussed the dengue "outbreak" in West Bengal and the need for data transparency in such diseases.

"Recently, there has been an outbreak of dengue in the state, but there have also been a significant number of fever- related illnesses in the country, where no cause was found," the experts said.

The conference was jointly organised by Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Foundation and Association of Physicians of India (West Bengal Chapter).
 

Sujit Kar Purkayastha, Managing Director of Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Foundation, said a majority of patients with fever-like symptoms in the last few months have been diagnosed dengue positive.

"Out of 570 patients with fever-like illnesses during the last three months or so, 434 cases were found dengue positive in the hospital. Of them, seven persons died," he said.

Data transparency is most essential for medical developments in future, he said.

Medical professionals together with the local administration can fight and control such a situation successfully, Kar Purkayastha said.

The experts also deliberated on new treatments across the world.

Keith W Muir of the Institute of Prescience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, said, "We are still not geared up to introduce thrombolysis (clot busting therapy) treatment for stroke victims, but a newer treatment called thrombectomy in acute stroke has now been introduced in the west."

Out of the non-communicable diseases, stroke, heart illnesses and cancer are being increasingly recognised in India, but stroke care has not developed at par with rest of the world, they said.

Similarly, age-related problems, in particular dementia, are now getting acknowledged in the country, the experts added.

Among other eminent speakers at the conference were Elizabeth Ashley, Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, University College Hospital, London and Sunil Bhandari from the Royal college of Physicians of Edinburgh.