Dengue
What is dengue fever?
- It’s a viral infection spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito (not the malaria one!)
- Caused by four different dengue viruses, meaning you can get it four times in your life
- Most common in warm places like sub-Saharan Africa
- Each year, about 400 million people get infected worldwide!
How do you get it?
- A mosquito bites an infected person and then carries the virus to another person
- Pregnant women can pass it to their babies
- Rarely, it spreads through blood transfusion or organ transplant
Symptoms: When your body starts misbehaving?
- Sudden high fever
- Severe headache and body pain
- Pain behind the eyes
- Skin rashes and swollen glands
If it gets worse: vomiting blood, blood in stool, belly pain, and bleeding gums
How do you know if you have dengue?
Doctors can check for dengue using blood tests. They look for:
- Signs of the virus itself (virological test): This tells if you currently have dengue.
- Your body’s defense (antibodies) against the virus (serological test): This shows if you’ve had dengue before.
How can we prevent it?
- Mosquitoes love standing water! So, empty water containers, cover gutters, and keep your surroundings clean.
- Use mosquito nets & repellent
Treatment?
- No special medicine, just rest, drink fluids, and take painkillers (avoid aspirin)
- Severe cases may need hospital care
- There’s a new vaccine (dengvaxia) for some people