A sharp rise in mosquito transmitted dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever cases in the past few weeks, with dozens of people in hospitals..

-How can someone get dengue fever?

Dengue fever occurs following the bite of an infected mosquito Aedes aegypti.The mosquito gets the Dengue virus after biting a human being infected with dengue virus.

-When should I suspect Dengue?


Dengue should be suspected when you have sudden onset of high grade fever 103-105 degrees F, accompanied with severe headache (mostly in the forehead), pain behind the eyes, body aches and pains, rash on the skin and nausea or vomiting. The fever lasts for 5-7 days.

-There are several types of fever, when shall dengue be suspected?

The characteristics of dengue that makes it different from other causes of fever are the pain behind the eyes, severe pains in the muscles, severe joint pains (break -bone fever), and skin rashes. These features make the diagnosis of suspected Dengue likely.

-What is the difference between suspected and probable case of dengue?

If a patient suspected to be having dengue has reduced platelets or an increase in blood haematocrit, then the patient has probable dengue. These additional findings make dengue more likely. (Platelets are cells in blood that help to stop bleeding. Haematocrit indicates the thickness of blood).

-Can I get dengue fever from another person?


It is only spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito not from person to person.

-What is the treatment? Is it curable?

Like most viral diseases there is no specific cure for dengue fever. Paracetamol is the drug of choice to bring down fever and joint pain. Other medicines such as Aspirin and Brufen should be avoided since they can increase the risk of bleeding.Patients should take rest, drink plenty of fluids (including ORS) and eat nutritious diet.

-When should a patient suffering from Dengue go to the hospital or consult a doctor?

The signs and symptoms that should be looked for are severe pain in the abdomen, persistent vomiting, bleeding from any site like, bleeding in the skin appearing as small red or purplish spots, nose bleed, bleeding from gums, passage of black stools like coal tar.This bleeding indicates dengue hemorrhagic fever which is a potentially lethal complication . Take the
patient to hospital whenever the first two signs, namely, severe pain in the abdomen and persistent vomiting are detected. Usually it is too late if we wait until bleeding has occurred.

-Is there a vaccine to prevent dengue fever?

A vaccine has been developed to prevent dengue fever but it is still under trial.

-How can the multiplication of mosquitoes be reduced?

Dengue mosquitoes breed in stored, exposed water collections. Favoured places for breeding are barrels, drums, jars, pots, buckets, flower vases, plant saucers, tanks, discarded bottles, tins, tyres, water coolers etc.

To prevent the mosquitoes from multiplying, drain out the water from desert coolers/window air coolers (when not in use), tanks, barrels, drums, buckets etc. Remove all objects containing water (e.g. plant saucers etc.) from the house. Collect and destroy discarded containers in which water collects e.g. bottles, plastic bags, tins, used tyres etc. In case it is not possible to drain out various water collections or to fully cover them use insecticide to prevent larvae from developing into adults.

-How can I protect myself from mosquito bites to prevent dengue fever?

There is no way to tell if a mosquito is carrying the dengue virus. Therefore, people must protect themselves from all mosquito bites. Dengue mosquitoes bite during the daytime. Highest biting intensity is about 2 hours after sunrise and before sunset.

Wear full sleeves clothes and long dresses to cover as much of your body as possible.

Use repellents

Use mosquito coils and electric vapour mats during the daytime also to prevent dengue. Use mosquito nets to protect children, old people and others who may rest during the day. The effectiveness of these nets can be improved by treating them with permethrin (pyrethroid
insecticide) .

Please do share this information with friends, family members, colleagues etc.

By Dr Aftab Ahmed Khan



Preventable though it is, Dengue fever is a severe flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults alike

DENGUE is a mosquito-borne infection which in recent years has become a major public health concern. It is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world, predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas, and nowadays in Pakistan.

Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), a potentially lethal complication, was first recognised in the 1950s during the dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand, but today DHF affects most Asian countries including Pakistan and has become a leading cause of hospitalisation and death among children in several of them.

There are four distinct, but closely related, viruses that cause dengue. Recovery from infection by one provides lifelong immunity against that serotype but confers only partial and transient protection against subsequent infection by the other three. There is good evidence that sequential infection increases the risk of more serious disease resulting in DHF.

Prevalence

The global prevalence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-east Asia and the Western Pacific. South-east Asia and the Western Pacific are most seriously affected. Before 1970 only nine countries had experienced DHF epidemics, a number that had increased more than four-fold by 1995.

Some 2,500 million people - two-fifths of the world's population -- are now at risk from dengue. The WHO currently estimates there may be 50 million cases of dengue infection worldwide every year.

Some other statistics:
• During epidemics of dengue, attack rates among susceptible are often 40 - 50 per cent, but may reach 80 - 90 per cent.

• An estimated 500,000 cases of DHF require hospitalisation each year, out of which a very large proportion are children. At least 2.5 per cent of cases die, although case fatality could be twice as high.

• Without proper treatment, DHF case fatality rates can exceed 20 per cent. With modern intensive supportive therapy, such rates can be reduced to less than one per cent.

The spread of dengue is attributed to expanding geographic distribution of the four dengue viruses and of their mosquito vectors, the most important of which is the predominantly urban species aedes aegypti. A rapid rise in urban populations is bringing ever greater numbers of people into contact with this vector, especially in areas that are favourable for mosquito breeding, for example, where household water storage is common and where solid waste disposal services are inadequate.

Transmission

Dengue viruses are transmitted to humans through the bites of infective female aedes mosquitoes. Mosquitoes generally acquire the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person. After virus incubation for 8-10 days, an infected mosquito is capable, during probing and blood feeding, of transmitting the virus, to susceptible individuals for the rest of its life. Infected female mosquitoes may also transmit the virus to their offspring by transovarial (via the eggs) transmission, but the role of this in sustaining transmission of virus to humans has not yet been delineated.

Humans are the main amplifying host of the virus, although studies have shown that in some parts of the world monkeys may become infected and perhaps serve as a source of virus for uninfected mosquitoes. The virus circulates in the blood of infected humans for two to seven days, at approximately the same time as they have fever; aedes mosquitoes may acquire the virus when they feed on an individual during this period.

Characteristics

Dengue fever is a severe, flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults, but seldom causes death.

The clinical features of dengue fever vary according to the age of the patient. Infants and young children may have a non-specific febrile illness with rash. Older children and adults may have either a mild febrile syndrome or the classical incapacitating disease with abrupt onset and high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, and rash.

Dengue haemorrhagic fever is a potentially deadly complication that is characterized by high fever, haemorrhagic phenomena -- often with enlargement of the liver -- and in severe cases, circulatory failure. The illness commonly begins with a sudden rise in temperature accompanied by facial flush and other non-specific constitutional symptoms of dengue fever. The fever usually continues for two to seven days and can be as high as 40-41°C, possibly with febrile convulsions and haemorrhagic phenomena.

In moderate DHF cases, all signs and symptoms abate after the fever subsides. In severe cases, the patient's condition may suddenly deteriorate after a few days of fever; the temperature drops, followed by signs of circulatory failure, and the patient may rapidly go into a critical state of shock and die within 12-24 hours, or quickly recover following appropriate volume replacement therapy.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. However, careful clinical management by experienced physicians and nurses frequently saves the lives of DHF patients. With appropriate intensive supportive therapy, mortality may be reduced to less than one per cent. Maintenance of the circulating fluid volume is the central feature of DHF case management.

Immunization

Vaccine development for dengue and DHF is difficult because any of four different viruses may cause disease, and because protection against only one or two dengue viruses could actually increase the risk of more serious disease. Nonetheless, progress is being made in the development of vaccines that may protect against all four dengue viruses. Such products may become available for public health use within several years.

Prevention and control

At present, the only method of controlling or preventing dengue and DHF is to combat vector mosquitoes.

In Asia and the Americas, aedes aegypti breeds primarily in man-made containers like earthenware jars, metal drums and concrete cisterns used for domestic water storage, as well as discarded plastic food containers, used automobile tyres and other items that collect rainwater. In Africa it also breeds extensively in natural habitats such as tree holes and leaf axils.

In recent years, aedes albopictus, a secondary dengue vector in Asia, has become established in:

Vector control is implemented using environmental management and chemical methods. Proper solid waste disposal and improved water storage practices, including covering containers to prevent access by egg laying female mosquitoes are among methods that are encouraged through community-based programmes.

The application of appropriate insecticides to larval habitats, particularly those which are considered useful by the householders, e.g. water storage vessels, prevent mosquito breeding for several weeks but must be re-applied periodically. Small, mosquito-eating fish and copepods (tiny crustaceans) have also been used with some success. During outbreaks, emergency control measures may also include the application of insecticides as space sprays to kill adult mosquitoes using portable or truck-mounted machines or even aircraft. However, the killing effect is only transient, variable in its effectiveness because the aerosol droplets may not penetrate indoors to microhabitats where adult mosquitoes are sequestered, and the procedure is costly and operationally very demanding. Regular monitoring of the vectors' susceptibility to the most widely used insecticides is necessary to ensure the appropriate choice of chemicals. Active monitoring and surveillance of the natural mosquito population should accompany control efforts in order to determine the impact of the programme.


Reference: DAWN Magazine, 22 October, 2006.

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