Dengue Fever has generated quite a few headlines recently. Several hundreds of cases have been reported in India. Some facts about the disease ...
- There are two kinds - Dengue Fever and more deadly Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever.
- Caused by four antigenically distinct virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, DEN-4).
- Spread by infected domestic mosquito (of genus Aedes and specifically only species Aedes aegypti and sometimes species Aedes albopictus). This type of mosquito occurs in most tropical urban areas of the world, including India, and breeds in stagnant water. Cannot be spread from person to person.
- Symptoms of Dengue include high fever, severe headache, backache, joint pains, nausea and vomiting, eye pain and rash. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is characterized by a fever that lasts from 2 to 7 days and does not have any differential symptoms which makes it harder to diagnose by a physician. This stage is followed by hemorrhagic manifestations and finally circulatory failure and shock resulting in death.
- No vaccine or cure is available at this time, but infection from one of these serotypes provides immunity to that serotype for life.
- Effective treatment of early diagnosed Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever can be done through fluid replacement therapy and hospitalization to manage it.
- CDC describes some of the reasons why this epidemic has recurred more frequently in recent years:
- Uncontrollable urbanization in these countries and corresponding urban population growth along with inadequate sewage systems.
- Since the disease has been endemic for centuries, health officials don't react adequately until situations reach a crisis stage, which is insufficient for dengue control.
- Lack of sufficient differential symptoms prevent physicians from adequately detecting it and alerting health officials in advance before an epidemic ensues.
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