A team of doctors at a city hospital have developed an software program along with a Russian lab to differentiate between dengue, malaria and other viral fevers, otherwise a challenging task due to their similar symptoms, an official said on Friday.
The software, developed by a team of doctors from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SRGH) and Lab Tech in St. Petersburg, is expected to aid in faster detection, reduction in cost of treatment and minimisation of antibiotic resistance as only fever-specific antibiotics need to be given to patients.
The chairperson of haematology department at SRGH, Manorama Bhargava said, “Doctors face challenges in distinguishing malaria and dengue as both present similar symptoms like high fever, loss of appetite and chills.”
Dr Bhargava, who led the team of doctors, said dengue, malaria and other viral infections peak in northern India in monsoon and post-monsoon seasons.
“This leads to recommendation of battery of diagnostic tests and start of antibiotics for all three groups till a specific diagnosis is made, leading to escalation in treatment costs and use of unnecessary antibiotics,” she added.
A research paper in this regard has been published in the June 15 edition of the International Journal of Laboratory Haematology — the official journal of the International Society for Laboratory Haematology.
The research is based on a study carried out after analysing 324 samples of patients suffering from dengue, malaria as well as other illnesses that mimic the two.