Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV) infection represents various clinical forms ranging from mild Dengue Fever (DF) to severe Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF)/ Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). There are four strains of DENV and each of these are serotypically different from one other. The virus enters the host blood stream during bite of Aedes mosquito. The virus interacts with the blood components and may trigger variety of response in the form of thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, neutropenia, lymphocytosis etc. The immune response and sensitization in these cases is reflected by leukocyte count variations and blood cell parameters which may serve as indicators of disease severity. To analyse the leukocyte trends in two sets of patients: one group having mild symptomatic infection and the other having severe infection of dengue, the present study was conducted. The blood samples were collected from Dengue positive patients referring to Sharda Hospital, U.P. Blood smear was prepared and stained with Leishman stain and various WBCs were counted and recorded. Of the overall WBC types studied, lymphocytes appeared to be crucial factor in severe patients when compared with simple DF patients. High levels (above the reference) were seen in 32.58% patients of severe dengue, while only 12.64% of simple DF cases had high levels of lymphocyte. The analysis of blood parameters specifically the levels of lymphocytes in dengue infected patients, can prove to be early markers in assessing the disease risk, severity and in improving the clinical management of dengue patients.
Keywords: Adaptive Immunity, Cytokines, Dengue Fever, Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, Immune Cells, Innate Immunity.