Dengue Fever

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Dengue (DEN-gey) fever is a mosquito-borne disease that normally occurs in the tropical areas of the world. Dengue fever is spread by Aedes aegypti or albopictus mosquitos. It is often referred to as the "breakbone fever" because of the severe muscle, bone, and joint pain that it causes.  The main symptom of dengue fever is known to be a sudden high fever, sometimes as high as 104 degrees. Other symptoms may include severe headaches, joint pain, severe pain behind the eyes and low white blood cell count, to name a few. These symptoms are known to begin usually four to six days after a person becomes infected with the virus and can last up to 2 weeks. Also, people who have a compromised immune system are at greater risk once infected and are likely to have more severe symptoms. There is no specific treatment for the dengue fever and because it is caused by a virus, antibiotics are useless. One dengue fever vaccine, Dengvaxia, is currently approved for the use of individuals from the ages of 9 to 45 who live in areas with a high incidence of dengue fever. The vaccine is given in three doses over the course of 12 months. Dengvaxia prevents dengue infections slightly more than half the time. The reason it is approved for only older children is because younger vaccinated children appear to be at increased risk of severe dengue fever and hospitalized two years after receiving the vaccine. Although, the Dengvaxia vaccine is available, the World Health Organization (WHO) stresses that the vaccine is not an effective tool on its own to reduce the dengue. Controlling the mosquito population and human exposure is still the most critical part of prevention efforts.

So, for now, if you are living or traveling in an area where dengue fever is known to be, the best way to avoid dengue fever is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes that carry the disease. Other tips that may help reduce your risk of mosquito bites are:

· Stay in air-conditioned or well-screened housing

· Wear protective clothing

· Use mosquito repellent (Permethrin can be applied to your clothing, shoes, camping gear and bed netting)

· Reduce mosquito habitat

· Once a week, empty and clean-out containers that hold standing-still water, such as planting containers, animal dishes and flower vases

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that the incidence of dengue worldwide has grown tremendously in the past few decades. Also, that there are between 100 million and 400 million cases of dengue fever each year. For those who don’t know, that is about half of the world's population that is at risk.

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