Dengue characteristics

• April 26, 2024

It looks like a flu, but it is a serious illness that can become deadly. It is dengue, an infection transmitted by the bite of a mosquito, for which there is no specific treatment. Only timely and appropriate medical care can control it and prevent it from becoming more complex, becoming the deadly Hemorrhagic Dengue (DH).

The WHO indicates that approximately 40% of the world's population is at risk of developing dengue and warns of the spectacular increase in cases in recent decades, which has raised it to the rank of "Important international public health problem".

Tropical mosquitoes

Dengue is very common in tropical and subtropical regions of the entire planet, particularly in urban and semi-urban areas; the only way to prevent it is by spraying and controlling mosquitoes of the species Aedes aegypti who transmit it.

It is recommended that the population, potentially at risk, have the conditions to properly dispose of their solid waste and can improve water storage practices: to properly cover the tanks and containers for this purpose, prevents female mosquitoes from laying their eggs.

Symptoms of dengue

The symptoms vary and appear between three and 14 days after the infectious bite of the mosquito: from a moderate fever, to a high fever that incapacitates the patient with intense headaches and eyes, muscles, bones and joints, as well as rashes, among other signs.

Dengue affects anyone regardless of their age. From infants and infants, for whom the disease can become serious, to adult people.

Given that there are no medications or antiviral drugs, good hydration of the patient is recommended and avoiding the intake of non-steroidal aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen.

Dengue is endemic

WHO estimates that there may be 50 million dengue cases worldwide each year. The disease is endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, America, the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the western Pacific - mainly in Thailand and the Philippines.