Dengue Fever Information

According to Dengue Virus Net.com, “Ka-dinga pepo” means “cramp like seizure caused by an evil spirit”. It is a Swahili phrase and some says that the word dengue is derived from it although the origins of the word are not clear. Another theory is that it came from the Spanish word “dengue” which means fastidious or careful. This would describe the gait of a person suffering from bone pain or muscle aches from dengue fever. Either ways, it can be derived simultaneously from both or from the similar sounding Swahili. “Dandy Fever” is also nick named for dengue from the slaves of West Indies who contracted dengue fever with the posture and gait of a dandy.

Water poison associated with flying insects was the first record of a case of probable dengue fever in a Chinese medical encyclopedia from the Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD). After the identification and naming of the disease in 1779, the first outbreaks occurred almost simultaneously in Africa, North America and Asia in the 1970s. Benjamin Rush coined the term “breakbone fever” because of the symptoms of myalgia and arthralgia. This is due to the fact that he was behind the first confirmed case report that dates from 1789.

In the 20th century, the viral etiology and the transmission by mosquitoes were then deciphered. The after effect of World War II has brought a socioeconomic impact which then increased the spread of dengue fever globally. This is primarily due to the fact of instability among communities which includes environmental sanitation and poverty. Today, approximately 2.5 billion people or 40 percent of the world’s population live in areas where dengue transmission is rampant and at high risk. The Pacific, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean where the continents wherein 100 countries where affected by dengue.

These are the possible factors for the spread of dengue fever:

• Unplanned urban overpopulation of areas leading to inadequate housing and public health systems- this will largely affect the water, sewerage and waste management system among houses.
• Poor vector control- this commonly happens in stagnant pools of water for mosquito breeding which includes: empty flower pots, tyres, empty cans and the like.
• Climate change and viral evolution – increased virus transmission has been linked to El Nino conditions which affects the conduciveness for living of breeding mosquitoes.
• Increased international travel to endemic areas- globalization is on its peak and everyone seems to love travel either for business or pleasure.

These factors should be addressed to control the continuous spread of dengue nowadays. It is believed that unplanned urbanization is believed to have the largest impact on disease intensification in individual countries. This is because in unplanned urbanization, many people living in large urban centers such as slums lack access to improved water, sanitation, security of tenure, durability of housing, and sufficient living area. Therefore, increased risk of dengue transmission. While this is true for individual countries, the largest impact on global spread is travel to endemic areas.

Dengue is a fatal disease caused by a virus that is easily transmitted by arthropods like mosquitoes. At present, there is no vaccine that grants immunity to the Dengue virus, also, antibiotics aren’t useful against it. This article particularly covers the facts written by Albert Francis E. Domingo, MD.

How Dengue is transmitted

Mosquitoes specifically Aedes aegypti are the vectors for the transmission of Dengue virus. They have distinct physical characteristic of black and white stripes found all over their bodies. The mosquito becomes infected by biting an infected person. It transmits the infection to other people by its subsequent bites then on. The mosquito vector for dengue usually chooses stagnant waters for their breeding sites. Examples for stagnant waters that are conducive to mosquito multiplication are those found in flower vases, cans or pails used to catch roof leaks, roadside potholes that take time to dry, old tires and clogged roof gutters.

Signs and Symptoms of Dengue
An asymptomatic incubation period ranging from 3-14 days will occur after being bitten by a Dengue virus mosquito vector which means that an infected person does not immediately manifest with the illness. High grade fever follows which would last from 2-7 days after the incubation period.

High-grade fever may be accompanied by:

• Fatigue
• Severe headache
• Abdominal pain
• Muscle and joint pains
• Red rashes on the skin
• Epistaxis (nose bleeding) and/or gum bleeding may occur in some cases
• Vomiting of blood
• Fresh blood in the stool or darkened feces may also be manifested

Possible complications for Dengue are Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and/or Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). Their manifestations are centered on internal bleeding and blood loss that is why they are considered serious fatal conditions.

How to manage Dengue

Seeking medical consultation is very vital for people who manifest the signs and symptoms of dengue. Some interventions that can be performed before bringing the patient to the physician may include:

• Giving paracetamol to lower the fever and lessen the pain. Aspirin should not be given or other pain relievers because these may worsen the signs and symptoms of Dengue mainly concerning the possible bleeding.
• Increasing fluid intake is vital if the patient as no known heart problems. This is to counteract the dehydration.

Preventing spread of Dengue

Avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes.

Lotions with mosquito repellents are available at local groceries
Dengue mosquitoes are easily attracted by dark colors. Therefore, one must avoid wearing them. Also, wear clothes that cover as much skin as possible.

Fix the surrounding environment to avoid mosquitoes.

Wire screens should be provided for all rooms’ windows and doors
Cover all vessels used to store water to eliminate possible mosquito breeding sites
Elimination of stagnant water is more effective than fogging because fogging can only repel mosquitoes for a few hours.

Information dissemination as to the facts about Dengue, its causes, transmission and prevention is very effective for people to actualize.

Europe hasn’t had any disease outbreak for a long time since the year 1920s. Then the dengue outbreak happened in Madeira, Portugal that has already affected 1,300 victims.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), this started as two cases last October 3. After one week, it had a 23 percent jump and by November 11 the number of cases increased by 18 percent. As of November 18, the reported cases have already reached to 1,672.

The ECDC has reported that they won’t be surprised if the cases will continue to rise especially during the Christmas season where a lot of foreigners visit the island. To prevent this risk, visitors are advised to know how dengue is transmitted from one person to another.

Spread by mosquitoes

Dengue is a viral disease that is transmitted from one person to another by mosquitoes specifically the Aedes aegypti mosquito. A person who is infected gets bitten by a mosquito. The mosquito bites and sucks infected blood. When the mosquito bites a healthy person, he transfers the infected blood and the healthy person becomes infected.

When dengue is detected at an early stage, it is not fatal however failure to detect it until later stages can kill a person. Some of the symptoms associated with dengue include rashes, nausea, joint and muscle pain, pain in the eye area and headache. At later stages, dengue can cause breathing problems, internal hemorrhage and eventually death.

Since it is a viral disease, there is no known cure and vaccine for dengue. The only way to make it non-fatal would be to detect it at an early sage, treat the symptoms and have blood transfusion in case the blood platelet count is already too low.

Distribution of the dengue victims

ECDC has come up with the distribution of the epidemic’s victims. According to the gathered data, one person each was bitten. One was from Sweden and the other came from Finland. Two were from France and six were coming from the United Kingdom. Seven from Germany were able to contact the disease while eleven cases where raised coming from mainland Portugal.

Cause of the outbreak

Certain factors have been identified as the cause of the outbreak. Overpopulation is one cause. When a place is overpopulated, diseases can spread easily. Sanitation is another factor blamed as the cause of the outbreak. When the place is dirty and has no proper sanitation, mosquitoes can breed in water stored in plastic bottles. When there are too many people in an area, there is also an increase in trash so overpopulation can also affect the sanitation.

Of the 1,672 cases, no one has been reported to die from the disease but ECDC still advice tourists to be wary of the ongoing dengue outbreak. If tourists are planning to visit the place during the holidays, they are advised to look for other destinations while the outbreak is still going on. Anyway, they can visit the place anytime when the dengue outbreak is already over.

Dengue, along with its fever, is caused by a family of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. It’s a severe illness with sudden onset which is then followed by benign symptoms such as headache, exhaustion, rashes, swollen glands (lymphadenopathy), and severe muscle pain and joint pain. The fever is actually just one part of what we call the “dengue triad” (fever, rash, and headache and other pains). In some cases, dengue may show severe symptoms, such as bleeding gyms, red palms and soles, and severe pain at the back of the eyes.

The dengue virus can affect anyone, as anyone can be bitten by mosquitoes. However, people with compromised immune system tend to suffer severe cases of dengue than those with healthy ones. And because the virus is caused by anyone of four types, it’s highly possible that one may experience dengue multiple times in his or her lifetime. But like most viruses, an attack of one type will cause the body to make its own immunity for a lifetime of that particular serotype of dengue.

Crippling Muscle and Joint Pain
Dandy is also sometimes called “breakbone” but no matter what it’s called, the same symptoms applied – patients of this illness can cause contortions due to the intense muscle and joint pain. Which is why it’s sometimes called breakbone fever.

There’s also the more severe type of dengue – the dengue hemorrhagic fever. It’s characterized by the same symptoms in the “triad” but it’s also characterized by hemorrhage (excessive bleeding due to ruptured blood vessels, either internally or externally). Patients may also show Petechiae or small red (or sometimes purple) blisters under the skin, bleeding in the gums and nose, black stools, and bruising all over the body which is a sign of hemorrhage. This is a very life-threatening form of the illness and can result into the most severe stage – the dengue shock syndrome.

Dengue Shock Syndrome
Clinical manifestation of the dengue virus is categorized into the asymptomatic type up to the hemorrhagic fever, which is often accompanied by the dengue shock syndrome (DSS). The latter is the most dangerous stage, as it’s a life-threatening form. DSS is most prevalent in children under ten years old, and its fatality rate among children is just under 44%.

The Warning Signs of DSS
Like any kind of diseases, it’s very important for parents to identify signs and symptoms to know when to rush their kids to the hospital and prevent things from getting worse. The warning signs of DSS include:

• Hypothermia
• Intense and persistent abdominal pain
• Sweating and prostration
• Persistent vomiting
• Lethargy and restlessness
• Bleeding inside the body veins

These warning signs show up before the “actual shock” takes place, thus it’s very important to note these signs. Anyone experiencing these symptoms, especially kids, should be taken into the hospital immediately for proper treatment, because the minute state of shock sets in, life could be really in danger.

With the cost of hospitalization at these times, people must consider health promotion and illness prevention seriously. Why go to the hospital for treatment when you can prevent it in the first place? Well, one step that’ll help you in the cause of dengue fever prevention is to raise your knowledge about the disease itself. This article will talk about what dengue fever is, what its symptoms are, and its treatment.

These are the facts that you should know about dengue fever courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/dengue.shtml:

• The type of virus that causes dengue infection is flavivirus that is spread by mosquitoes. This type of infection is common in rural and suburban environments.
• Dengue is a major cause of illness worldwide although it turns up rarely in the United Kingdom among travelers from overseas. 100 million episodes of feverish illness a year have been recorded.
• Flavivirus is further classified into 4 subtypes which cause dengue fever.
• Once you’re infected and recovered then on, it provides lifelong immunity but only to the specific sub-type that you have been exposed. Therefore, a person living in an endemic area has greater chance of being infected by dengue fever more than once in his/her lifetime.

Two phases have been identified which consist of the initial fever accompanied by a skin rash that usually settles after a few days and its return along with a second rash before finally disappearing again. Although some don’t develop rashes especially if prompt interventions have been done. A person’s immunity is also a great factor in the severity of symptom development.

Symptoms of Dengue Fever usually include:

High fever
Headache
Nausea
Weakness accompanied by severe pain in the bones, muscles and joints, and because of this it’s also known as ‘breakbone fever’.

Primarily, most of the dengue fever cases don’t lead to permanent harm. However, a small percentage of those who are infected develop several complications. The virus can cause blood vessels to become leaky wherein clotting is disturbed. In the laboratory tests, platelet is usually the basis for clotting capacity of the blood. Due to the disturbance of clotting capacity, hemorrhage or bleeding is manifested. This includes bleeding gums, nose or sinuses along with other clotting problem manifestations.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), described earlier, has high fatality rate if untreated. Another serious complication is Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). It is said that when a person has immunity to one of the other types of dengue virus as a result of previous infection, there’s a much greater risk of DHF/DSS.

Treatment and recovery in the course of Dengue Fever:

Water therapy can help in replenishing the lost fluid throughout the fever caused by dehydration. Painkillers are also needed if one experiences muscle/joint aches all over. Rest is also vital to preserve your energy in fighting against the infection. However, those who develop complications may need to be hospitalized for proper monitoring and other support treatments including intravenous fluid administration and oxygen therapy.

Most people recover fully without further problems although it may take a number of weeks, with treatment.

The dengue fever is not just one type of disease. It has a brother that is far more sinister and deadlier. This is the dengue hemorrhagic fever or DHF. As a deadlier form of the disease, the DHF has taken a lot of lives since its inception in the 1950s when an epidemic of this type of dengue occurred in Asia.

• What is DHF or Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever?

DHF is a severe form of the dengue disease that exhibits similar initial phase symptoms but quickly develops to critical phase where the patient experience severe bleeding just behind the skin. The afflicted individual becomes extremely restless and irritable. Signs of bleeding are visible on the skin as tiny spots of blood appears. Larger spots also develop a few days later and even simple injuries could lead to bleeding. Redness of the eyes also occur and other common dengue symptoms such as hypotension and fever.

• What causes DHF?

There are 4 known strands of the dengue virus that causes DHF. The World Health Organization labeled the 4 as follows: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. The good news is that you rarely get DHF when it is your first time with the dengue virus. The problem comes when you contracted the virus again and it happens to be a different strand. The likelihood of getting DHF is much higher when it is the patient’s second time with the virus.

• How dangerous is DHF?

Left untreated or when the discovery is very late, DHF can lead to the death of the patient due to shock and severe blood loss. However, the chances of this happening to an adult are less compared to when the patient is a child or an elderly. During the 1950 epidemic in the Philippines and Thailand, a lot of the casualties were children and infants. This is due to their underdeveloped immune system. The elderly on the other hand have weak immune system due to deterioration caused by the aging process.

• What are the treatments for DHF?

The only way to treat dengue hemorrhagic fever is to treat each of the symptoms. Immunity of one strand of the virus is possible. But cross-strand immunity is still impossible which is why DHF still occurs throughout the world in alarming numbers. Blood transfusion and IV fluids are used to deal with blood and fluid loss due to hemorrhage. The patient also needs to be in Intensive Care Unit for close monitoring. Oxygen therapy is also considered during rare cases when there is oxygen depletion in the blood.

• How much it would cost to treat DHF?

For people in 3rd world countries like Philippines and Thailand, the cost of treatment for dengue hemorrhagic fever is high. In Bangkok, the average cost for treating an adult reaches $160. In the Philippines, the patient will be paying more. Hospitalization cost alone is at $40 per day on a standard room. This translates to $280 to be in the hospital. Then you need to add doctor’s fee and other hospital fees for the drugs and medical care given to you.

• Is there a possible vaccine?

There is a vaccine being developed in the Philippines and is now in the final testing stage. If the result is successful then for the first time in history there will be a complete vaccine against the dengue virus.

These are the things we all need to know about the deadly dengue hemorrhagic fever. As you can see there are information that can really help us deal with the disease and a hope for a final solution against it.

Source links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9656390

http://www.mymovetothephilippines.com/tag/hospitalization-cost-in-the-philippines/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002349/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001373.htm

We are very familiar with the dengue fever. It is the disease that we can get when we are bitten by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. So we end up doing what we can to keep these mosquitoes at bay. We even try to get rid of their breeding spots. But when we do get the dreaded disease there are things about dengue that we should know. And this is the 3 stages of the disease.

To doctors and medical practitioners, the dengue fever is an illness that has 3 different stages or phases. And each phase requires specific treatments. There are 3 stages of Dengue: the Febrile phase, the Critical phase and the Convalescence phase.

• Stage 1 – The Febrile Phase

The Febrile phase is the first stage of the dengue disease. It is characterized by the following symptoms: fever, rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, joint and muscle pains and bleeding from the nose and mouth. Fever is the first symptom of this disease. It usually last for a week. On the 2nd day of the fever rashes would develop all over the body. Spots are also seen to develop with the rashes. As treatment for this stage of the disease, analgesics are used. But not just any analgesic will do. Analgesics with aspirin or other blood thinning substance must not be use due to the bleeding symptoms of dengue. Fluid intake must be increased to prevent dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea.

• Stage 2 – The Critical Phase

The critical stage of dengue is when bleeding within the gastrointestinal area of the body begins. This is a very dangerous stage due to the possibility of severe blood loss leading to death. Another symptom during this stage is hypotension or severe low blood pressure. This condition leads to low blood supply throughout the body which can cause organ failure, especially to the area where there is bleeding. Blood transfusion may be needed to treat the blood loss. IV fluid injection is required to mitigate the dehydration from blood loss. The patient will be closely monitored due to the shock effect experienced by the body from hypotension and hemorrhage which can lead to death.

• Stage 3 – The Convalescence/Recovery Phase

The convalescence stage is also called the recovery phase. This is the time when the hemorrhage has stopped and signs of recovery are starting to show. However, this is also the phase where seizures occur. The patient’s consciousness is erratic. There are times when they are awake and there are times when they experience deep sleep for long periods. Hypotension is still there but not as severe as the one that occurs in stage 2. IV fluid injection is still used to help in the recovery process. Doctors will still monitor the patient closely due to the possibility of fluid overload. Complications can occur when there are too much intravascular fluids in the organs.

These are the 3 stages of the dengue fever that all of us should know about. It does not have to be a very technical knowledge like the ones doctors have. You just need an overview to understand the condition of the person who is on a specific stage of the disease. This way we can also understand why doctors and nurses are doing what they are doing which can really relieve us a little bit from our worries.

Links to Sources:

http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/images/PhasesOfInfInDHF.jpg

http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/articles/hottopics/transcripts/2012/05-dengue/14.html

In the past couple of years, there have been some serious outbreaks of Dengue fever not just in tropic countries such as Southeast Asia, but even in other countries around the world. Just last month (October 2012), southwest Europe, particularly Maderia, Portugal, experienced an outbreak, affecting 18 people and 191 suspected cases. It was the first that the reported cases dengue fever reached that high number in the history of the region.

Furthermore, earlier this month (November 2012), dengue fever strike Florida. It was the second reported case of the year and health officials are yet to confirm a third case.

Asia, which is the favorite region of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, obviously suffered the same blow, as many countries reported increase in reported cases of the illness. India, for example, has 50 reported cases all across the country. Because of which, several studies are being conducted in different countries in the world, including India to understand the extent of the problem and analyze the situation. India had their share of the study by focusing on the distribution of the vector, characteristics of the virus, and development of the vaccine.

Getting To Know The Carrier: The Aedes Aegypti Mosquito
Studies on the incidence and the course of virus’ distribution note that, the breeding of the dengue carriers (Aedes Aegypti) usually starts in June, which is the onset of the monsoons. In specific regions, the urban house index of the specific type of mosquito is reported to be higher in pre-rain season than post-rain season. Experts believe that this is may be because of the water shortage in pre-rain months, which cause storage of more water, which later provides breeding grounds of the mosquitoes around human habitations. The fact that the number of this type of mosquito rises in June (or rainy seasons in some areas), should promote advance planning for prevention and control of the illness, which should continue throughout the rainy season.

The Truth About Dengue Vaccine
There had been numerous researches on developing a vaccine for dengue fever since 1940s, but nothing has been really completed to provide immunity from the illness. This is because there are so many problems that slows and hinders health experts, such as:

Dengue fever is caused by 4 different types of carriers ((DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4)), and obviously an effective vaccine should provide protection against all four viruses concurrently.

Like most viral infections, dengue virus infection, from whatever type of dengue, develops a lifelong protective immunity from that particular virus (which is called homotypic immunity). However, a second infection of a different type of virus (.ie. DEN-1 virus followed by DEN-4) can cause more severe type of infection, such as dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome, both of which are pretty devastating.

Thus, health experts and health scientists conclude that developing a vaccine will not ensure immunity against all four different viruses, and may lead into a more damaging and potentially severe type of life-threatening infection.

Several dengue vaccines are being clinically tested, and health experts are yet to come up with safe dengue vaccine. This is why further studies are still being done all around the world.

Dengue fever is one of the most common diseases that are transmitted by mosquitoes. This is a viral disease so there is no cure for it. Usually, doctors would just let the disease run its course. When this is not diagnosed in the early stages, this can cause damage to the internal body organs and can even lead to death. To help patients detect the disease in early stages, here are some of the symptoms often associated with dengue.

Symptoms of Dengue

Patients usually complain of exhaustion, fever, headache, severe muscle and joint pain, skin rashes and swollen lymph glands. The head, rash and fever symptoms are often referred to as the “dengue triad” and sure sign of the presence of dengue fear. Other symptoms include severe pain in the feet and sole area. Bleeding gum is another symptom observed in many patients. When a person has these symptoms, he/she should consult the doctor at once.

Important facts about dengue

Here are some of the basic facts about dengue. First, it is caused by viruses which are transmitted from one person to another through mosquitoes. Dengue is common in tropical and subtropical countries. Some of the affected countries include Costa Rica, Paraguay, Cuba U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Just like other viral disease, dengue can’t be treated by medicine or antibiotics. Usually patients are bought to the hospital to replenish their blood platelets, relieve pain and other symptoms. Children below 10 years of age are usually the one affected by the disease because they have weaker immune response. Depending on the health condition of the person being affected, the disease lasts about one to two weeks on average.

Dengue prevention

Since mosquitoes are the main transmitters of the disease, destroying them would be one of the quickest ways to prevent an outbreak. Tropical countries are usually the most affected countries because there are lots of mosquito breeding grounds in these countries.

Mosquitoes usually love to breed in dark and cool areas, particularly in the areas where stagnant water is present. So mosquitoes won’t have a breeding ground, get rid of containers where stagnant water can be stored. If you find a stagnant water area, pour oil on the water. By pouring oil, mosquito larva won’t be able to breath and eventually die.

Another advice would be to apply insect repellants especially when you go to areas where there are dengue cases. Insect repellants drive away insects including mosquitoes. When mosquitoes won’t be able to bite you, you are not at risk.

Conclusion

Being informed and prevention would significantly lower the dangers of contacting any disease. Having clean surroundings and being vigilant about possible mosquito breeding grounds can prevent dengue outbreak. Aside from that, knowing the symptoms of the disease can reduce its danger. When you see the symptoms, bring the person at once to the nearest hospital where the appropriate treatment can be applied. Dengue at the later stages can be dangerous and worse, can even lead to death.