Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes in tropical climates. Symptoms include high fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, and a red rash. There is no cure, but treatment can reduce symptoms. Protection strategies include wearing long clothes, using repellent, and sleeping under nets. Dengue fever can lead to a more serious condition called dengue hemorrhagic fever, which has a higher death rate in children and individuals with suppressed immune systems.
Dengue fever is a viral infection predominantly transmitted by mosquitoes and is more common in tropical climates. There are actually four related strains of the dengue virus that can cause this fever, but they are so closely related that researchers and epidemiologists usually lump them all together under the broad heading of “dengue fever.” The infection is usually not fatal, although it tends to be very unpleasant. Victims often experience prolonged headaches, nausea, and itchy rashes; muscle and joint pain are also common. It is not possible for people to spread fever among themselves as it is only transmitted by mosquitoes. Only mosquitoes in a few geographic regions, predominantly in the tropics of Asia and Africa, are also known to carry the virus. There is no known cure for the condition, but in most cases it goes away on its own after about a week. The best way to avoid exposure is to protect yourself from mosquitoes by wearing repellents and sleeping under nets.
Transmission basics
Dengue viruses are transmitted exclusively by Aedes mosquitoes. This means that for someone to become infected, they must be bitten by a “carrier” insect. Mosquitoes contract the disease initially from contaminated water sources and, in some cases, from other animals, then transmit it in their saliva and fluids that are transferred during their bite. The bite actually transmits the small amount of blood needed to spread the disease.
Sharing bodily fluids with an infected person is not enough to spread the disease. It is exclusively blood. In theory, sharing blood with an infected person could lead to a secondary infection, but the circumstances under which this could happen are very rare. Therefore, healthcare professionals and health care workers are usually not considered to be at risk.
Prevalence and problem areas
Dengue doesn’t occur everywhere. Fever is almost non-existent in Europe, for example, and most northern climes of the world have no reported cases for most years. However, the disease is rampant in many tropical climates, including large parts of India and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. The viruses that cause dengue fever seem to thrive in these warm, humid environments, and the mosquitoes that carry them tend to have very long lives in these places.
Symptoms
The infection usually becomes symptomatic five to six days after the infecting bite. Early symptoms are high fever, usually 104° to 105°F (40°C), vomiting, nausea, and headache. Over the next few days, joint and muscle pains occur, and a red, flat rash may appear that spreads from the torso to the limbs and face. The severe pains experienced by most of the victims led to the fever being called broken bone fever in many communities.
Despite their intensity, most symptoms of the disease disappear within about a week of their onset. Most patients are expected to make a full recovery, particularly if they receive prompt treatment. It sometimes happens that exposure once can lead to immunity later, especially for children. People need to remember, however, that the disease is caused by any of four related strains, and immunity to one usually doesn’t protect against the others.
Treatment and prognosis
There is usually no cure for dengue fever, although quick treatment has been credited with reducing symptoms for many sufferers. Diagnosis is usually made through blood tests that scan for antibodies to dengue viruses. Once identified, patients can take antiviral and pain-relieving medications.
Rare complications
In a small number of cases, the fever overcomes its initial state and becomes a much more serious condition known as dengue hemorrhagic fever. This secondary condition usually develops if the virus enters the soft tissues of the body, such as the lymph nodes. It has a much higher death rate in children and individuals with suppressed immune systems and can cause intense complications for others.
Every year, around 20 million people contract dengue fever leading to around 24,000 deaths worldwide. About 100 infections are reported in the United States each year, mostly from travelers returning from the tropics.
Protection strategies
The best way to protect yourself from dengue and its complications is to protect yourself from carrying mosquitoes. Wearing long clothes is usually a good place to start, as is sleeping under nets and keeping screens on outside windows whenever possible. Wearing repellent and being indoors at dawn and dusk, two of the mosquitoes’ favorite times to bite, can also help.
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