| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 12
| Issue : 6 | Page : 258-263 |
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Symptoms of dengue at the acute and post-infection stage in the Western Province, Sri Lanka: A cross-sectional study
Chrishantha Abeysena1, Sharika Peiris2, Indrakantha Welgama3, Upul Gunasekara3, Kolitha Wickramage4
1 Lab1 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka
2 Consultant, United Nations Migration Agency
3 Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka
4 Global Research and Epidemiology Coordinator, United Nations Migration Agency, Geneva
Correspondence Address:
Chrishantha Abeysena
Professor, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya
Sri Lanka
 Source of Support: Funding support was provided by the Government of Canada and the study
was implemented with the technical and logistical support by the United Nations Migration
Agency, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/1995-7645.261272
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Objective: To describe the symptoms of dengue at acute and post-infection stage and to identify preventive strategies adopted by the patients in the Western Province, Sri Lanka.
Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Western Province of Sri Lanka in November 2017. The study population consisted of 473 confirmed dengue patients aged from 18 to 64 years who were hospitalized between June and August 2017. A stratified random sampling technique was applied to select the participants. Data collection was done by trained interviewers, using a structured, pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire.
Results: The most common symptoms of dengue fever at the acute stage was body ache (81.81%, n=387), followed by headache (71.67%, n=339), loss of appetite (66.80%, n=316), tiredness (53.06 %, n=251) and vomiting (41.86%, n=198). The most common symptom during the post-infection stage was body ache (48.62%, n=230), followed by fatigue (39.74%, n=188), and loss of appetite (28.75%, n=136). Adding sand to the water in places where water accumulates (41.64%, n=197) was the most common method used to prevent transmission of dengue followed by removing/draining stagnant water regularly (36.15%, n=177). Use of mosquito nets (83.08%, n=393) was the most common method in preventing mosquito bites followed by the use of fans among dengue patients (56.02%, n=265).
Conclusions: The study shows a prolonged persistence of clinical symptoms during the postinfection period. |
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