Dengue is a flu-like viral infection that affects infants, young children and adults and is transmitted through the bite of mosquitoes of the Aedes genus; The main vector is ‘Aedes aegypti’. In a low intensity stage, dengue causes high fever and a sensation of pain throughout the body, as well as skin rashes. At a serious level, however, it can cause bleeding, low blood pressure and even death.
Dengue occurs in tropical and subtropical areas of the planet, with the most common areas being Southeast Asia and the islands of the Western Pacific, although there are also many cases in the Caribbean.
Causes of dengue
Aedes mosquito bite
Dengue virus is an arbovirus of the Flavivirus genus of the ‘Flaviviridae’ family. It has five immunological serotypes that cause the disease: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, DEN-4 and DEN-5. The origin of dengue is the bite of the infected Aedes mosquito that transmits the disease. If a mosquito bites a person infected with a dengue virus, the virus enters the insect’s body. If that infected mosquito bites another human being, the virus is transmitted to that person.
When cured, the person is immunized against that type of dengue, but not against the rest of the strains.
Symptoms of dengue
Symptom levels
Symptoms of dengue infection begin four to seven days after the bite. The most common are:
– Headache.
– Very high fever, up to 40 degrees.
– Muscle pain.
– Dizziness and vomiting.
– Skin rash.
In most cases, recovery occurs within a week, but there are some more serious cases that present additional symptoms:
– Pain in the abdomen.
– Vomiting more frequently.
– Nosebleed.
– Bruises on the skin.
– Breathing problems.
– Feeling of tiredness.
Dengue diagnosis
Similar to other infectious diseases
The greatest difficulty when diagnosing dengue is the similarity of symptoms with other infectious diseases such as malaria or typhoid fever. The doctor will ask questions about your medical history and recent travel, and perform blood and urine tests. The problem is that the results of certain analyzes suitable for these cases take several days and would delay the start of treatment.
Dengue treatment and medication
Variety of treatments
There are different treatments depending on the severity. In all cases, a necessary measure is to hydrate yourself by drinking water. It is also appropriate to take paracetamol to reduce fever and help alleviate pain. If the level of dengue is severe, hospitalization and perhaps a blood transfusion will be necessary.
Dengue prevention
Do not visit risk areas
The most effective prevention is not to travel to risk areas and, once there, use mosquito repellent that has a 10 percent concentration of DEET (N,N-diethyl-m toluamide).
Also recommended:
– Dress in light-colored clothing that covers most of our body.
– Avoid areas with flowers, woods and humid areas.
– Do not use perfumes or hairsprays.
– Place mosquito nets on doors and windows.
– Avoid driving in the car with the windows open.
– Use insecticides at home.
– Check that an insect has not landed on the edge of our drink; especially if it is sweet.
– Avoid walking barefoot.
– Cover the garbage cans well.
– If we hang the clothes outside or leave them outside, they must be shaken well before picking them up or before dressing them.
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