Answer of what is Dengue fever or break bone fever is an illness due to an infection with a virus of
the family “Flaviviridae” and actually there are four strains of this virus and we name them :[DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, DENV-4]
which are single stranded RNA viruses.
What is Dengue fever ( transmittion )
It is a mosquito-borne disease (the viruses that cause it are transmitted through mosquitoes) , it’s transmitted from infected
to susceptible humans by day- biting “Aedes Egypti” mosquitoes (a domestic mosquito that breeds in human-made containers), also not transmitted directly
from one person to another, and therefore special infection control measures are not required for suspected cases in hospital.
On the other hand women who get dengue fever during pregnancy may be able to spread the virus
to the baby during childbirth , babies of women who get dengue fever during pregnancy
have a higher risk of low birth weight or fetal distress
Symptoms and signs
Infection may be subclinical (asymptomatic) but if there are symptoms, they vary from a benign
febrile illness to a severe, life- threatening syndrome (dengue hemorrhagic fever/ dengue shock syndrome)
Dengue fever
- Maculopapular rash, with blanching rash typically appears after a few days, and is characteristic (white islands in a sea of red)
- Fever
- severe headache
- retro-orbital pain
- intense myalgia
- arthralgia (hence the name ; break bone fever)
Dengue fever usually lasts for 4 to7 days, followed by complete recovery or it may progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever / Dengue shock syndrome
After 2 to 7 days of dengue fever, more serious manifestations of disease become apparent as increased vascular permeability and hemorrhage .
Without treatment, mortality is 50%, but simple supportive care can reduce mortality to less than 1%.
Adequate plasma expansion with simple crystalloid solutions is the cornerstone of therapy.
The vascular leak syndrome typically resolves within 24 to 48 hours, and careful monitoring is required
to avoid fluid overload during the recovery phase.
Severe complications include:
- Bleeding without evidence of vascular leak in particular of gastro-intestinal tract
- menorrhagia
- Encephalopathy
- Encephalitis
- Blood pressure can drop to dangerous levels, causing shock
- May lead to death (rare)
Epidemiology (areas affected by this disease)
Dengue fever occur in tropical and subtropical climate, so it is most common in Southeast Asia, Caribbean
Africa, Latin America and recently it reached countries in Europe and United States.
What is Dengue fever (treatment)
Treatment of this disease is symptomatic treatment because there isn’t an antiviral medication for it.
Patient must drink plenty of fluids and Taking his shower with warm water
And Shouldn’t eat heavy meals ,It is preferable to take medications which reduce fever as “paracetamol”
but be attention not to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) because they have the ability to increase hemorrhage
Prevention against dengue fever
1. Dengue vaccine (Denguvaxia),for people ages 9-45 years old ,The world health organization (WHO) recommends the vaccine
only to persons with confirmed prior dengue virus ,three doses of vaccine, each shot is spaced 6 months apart.
2. Vector (mosquito) , control is effective but difficult to sustain , you can rid mosquitoes of their breeding grounds near your home
by covering any standing water to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs, also change the water in containers which cannot be covered such as flower vases.
Ensure the environment surrounding your home is clean and tidy, and there is not a single place which
could become waterlogged, allowing for mosquitoes to breed.
3. Insecticide spraying may help control an outbreak.
4. wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks and shoes to prevent mosquitoes from biting you
Conclusion
Dengue fever may have very bad complications, so we should take care of ourselves.
Once we feel that we have any symptom of the disease, we should tell our doctor to diagnose us.
If you have to travel to a country that has this virus, be careful and wear clothes that cover all your body.
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