From believing dengue fever to be “contagious” or “you get it once in a lifetime”, to believing that the “dengue-causing mosquitoes bite only in the day”, Indians are confused about the basics of the commonly occurring viral infection.
Then there are those who consume papaya leaves or goat milk, or even giloy juice to pump up platelet levels while suffering from dengue assuming that it helps the body fight the illness.
As dengue season picks up again, doctors are concerned about the different myths about the fever that have permeated Indian culture, which people believe in to prevent or cure the illness but end up being fatal.
Blaming a variety of myths related to dengue fever, medical experts feel that families lose precious time by following “herbal” or “home remedies” instead of getting proper medical treatment for the patient.
“The cases related to dengue are witnessing a spike in several parts of India, including Delhi-NCR, after recent rains,” Dr Rajinder Kumar Singal, head of the department, internal medicine, BLK Max Super Speciality Hospital, told News18.
Here are the five most common myths associated with dengue fever, which doctors say must be unlearned:
MYTH 1: ‘Low platelet count can be increased with goat’s milk, papaya leaves and giloy juice’
One of the most critical symptoms of dengue is a low platelet count and there are many myths related to restoring platelet levels via herbs and home-made remedies. According to Dr Rohit Garg, consultant, department of infectious diseases at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, there is absolutely “no role of papaya leaf extract or goat’s milk etc” during dengue fever.
Clinical studies have not shown any reasonable evidence for the benefits of the same. A 2019 large meta-analysis concluded: “Current evidence is insufficient to comment on the role of papaya extracts in dengue.”
Dr Mugdha Tapdiya, senior consultant, internal medicine at Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj, said: “It has been observed that during dengue fever people consume papaya leaf water, giloy juice, or papaya. However, its use is not scientifically based and there is no randomised trial on the use; hence, it should be avoided.”
Dr Tapdiya further said the use of papaya leaf and giloy results in gastritis and vomiting. “During dengue, we must avoid vomiting. The decrease and increase of platelets are a self-reversal process, hence we should avoid using alternative methods till the trial results come,” the doctor added.
Why people claim that their platelet count has improved after using papaya extracts
According to an explanatory tweet by Dr Abby Cyriac Philip, a specialist in hepatology known for busting pseudoscience myths, “…in the natural history of the disease, when the platelets increase on their own, they falsely attribute it to the papaya extract use”.
He said this was a “post hoc fallacy” or “the assumption that because one event preceded another event, they must be causally related”.
As dengue is a self-resolving viral illness, platelet count may decrease transiently during the course of illness; however, it also improves spontaneously. But in severe cases with very low platelet count or bleeding issues, a blood (platelet) transfusion is required.
“Platelet transfusion is not mandated and one should go for it only if there are signs of bleeding or the platelet count is lower than 10,000,” Dr Singal said.
MYTH 2: ‘Dengue is contagious’
Absolutely not. The dengue virus is transmitted from one person to another through the bite of a mosquito, only. “There is no other known mode of transmission. Therefore, it is not contagious by contact,” Dr Garg from Amrita Hospital said.
MYTH 3: ‘Dengue fever is a harmless condition’
Dengue is a viral illness that can vary from asymptomatic, mild infection to severe illness. Although it causes mild febrile illness in the majority, it can become serious in some patients – those with risk factors, such as heart, kidney or liver disease, or low immunity conditions etc.
MYTH 4: ‘Dengue mosquito bites only during the day’
Incorrect. Aedes aegypti (AA) mosquitoes are day feeders, which means they venture out in the daytime to feed. This means, most cases of an AA bite happen in the daytime.
“However, there have been instances of people being bitten in the evening or night and getting infected with dengue,” Dr Singal said.
MYTH 5: ‘You get dengue infection once in a lifetime’
Experts call this a half-truth as there are four strains of the dengue virus. At any point in time, the infection happens due to any one strain, following which the person develops immunity against that particular strain.
“However, there are three other strains that can infect the same person later. This means you can actually develop dengue infection four times in a lifetime (assuming newer strains of the virus will not emerge),” Dr Singal said, adding that you get dengue from one strain, once in a lifetime.
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