An outbreak of dengue fever in Tirupur, Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu.

Dengue is considered as a serious public health problem with about 2.5 billion people are at risk globally of which a few may progress to dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) / dengue shock syndrome (DSS), the major cause of mortality mainly among infants1. In India, DF and DHF had been documented in different parts of the country2-5 including southern India (Tamil Nadu)6-8. A sudden increase of fever cases with haemorrhagic manifestations has been reported in Tirupur Municipality in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu during July 2005. We present here the aetiology of the outbreak and the results of serological, entomological and virological studies carried out in the DF affected areas.