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What is Dengue Fever?
Dengue fever is a disease from a family of viruses spread by
mosquitoes. It is usually followed by an acute illness along with
symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, appearance of rashes
on a person’s arms, high temperature, severe joint and muscle pain
and swollen glands. It makes sleep difficult, making one delirious.
There is also blood in the stool and complete loss of appetite. It
is also known by its other name, “breakbone” or “dandy fever”.
Dengue hemorrhagic is a more severe form of the illness, symptoms of
this fever are headache, fever, rash, and haemorrhage in the body.
Small red or purple blisters under the skin called Petechiae, nose
or gum bleeding, black stool and easy bruising of the body are
possible signs of this hemorrhage.
Where is it a Risk?
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Dengue is known to be a tropical disease affecting countries such as
the Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, South East
Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and
Sri Lanka) and the Middle East. People with low immunity systems are
known to be at risk with dengue. People travelling to these
countries are high risk candidates for contracting this disease due
to their lack of exposure to such environments. Dengue is known to
easily affect people from colder climates, who have less immunity to
tropical weather. As dengue is caused by mosquito bites, people
living in areas without proper water, garbage or urinal hygiene are
at risk of this disease. The mosquito is notorious in the rainy
season, laying its eggs in flowering pots, plastic bags filled with
water and buckets or cans with water. Water is the chief source of
laying eggs for these mosquitoes known as Aedes Aegyti. The mosquito
is the carrier of the disease from one person to another by its bite
and the virus is transmitted to them.
What are its Symptoms?
After the mosquito has bitten the person, there is an incubation
period from 3 to 15 days. Symptoms range from headache, nausea,
chills, pain in eye movements and low backache. Pain in the legs and
joints, rise in body temperature, low blood pressure, and low heart
rate are also symptoms.
What are Ways to avoid getting it?
Avoiding water infested areas prone to mosquitoes, eradication of
water filled pots, buckets or cans. Using mosquito netting at home,
applying mosquito repellant cream on the body and spraying mosquito
killer sprays helps eradicate the threat of this disease.
Copyright Peter Garrey
2009
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