Letters to the Editor
Importance of vitamin D for dengue patients
Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Bangladesh has already seen the highest number of dengue infections and deaths this year. This contagious disease is giving people nightmarish time. It is wreaking havoc not only in Dhaka city but also in other places of the country including remote areas. This year the severity of dengue fever is much higher than previous years. One of the main causes of death in dengue fever is dengue hemorrhagic fever and shock syndrome. In this situation, the amount of fluid in the body decreases fast. Different organs start losing their function.
Vitamin D is essential to human health and well-being. This vitamin plays a huge role in the prevention of various diseases and quick recovery by controlling our immune system. Some studies have suggested that there is a possible association of vitamin D deficiency with severe and complicated dengue fever. Severe dengue infection, excessive dengue virus load in the body, results in excessive cytokine release from various cells. These pro-inflammatory cytokines are particularly responsible for dengue haemorrhagic fever and shock syndrome. According to new studies, vitamin D plays an important role in reducing the complications of dengue fever. It reduces the number of dengue-infected cells in the human body, which in turn reduce the release of various pro-inflammatory cytokines. As a result, the severity of dengue is reduced. In addition, vitamin D helps in the differentiation of cells called macrophages, which prevents the rapid growth of the virus in the body and helps reduce the severity of dengue.
It should be noted that about 75-90 per cent of people in our country are suffering from vitamin D deficiency in one way or another. The severity of dengue fever is very high in the country now. Two separate studies of dengue patients found that those given 4,000 units daily for 10 days or 2,000,000 units of vitamin D in a single dose had a reduced risk of severe dengue. As vitamin D helps reduce the severity of dengue fever, we should ensure adequate vitamin D supply to all dengue patients.
Ashikujaman Syed,
Foreign Service Officer,
Anhui Haikang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd,
Anqing, China,
syedashikujaman@yahoo.com