Dengue Fever Awareness

Dengue is a vector-borne disease transmitted by an infected female mosquito of the Aedes aegypti species that causes high fever. These mosquitoes are different from normal mosquitoes with white bands present on their legs. It often bites during the day and after the infected mosquito bites a human, the symptoms start developing in the body within 3-14 days. It has been seen that dengue infects children more.

Dengue Fever has the following symptoms:

1. High fever usually around 104 °F.
2. Severe headache
3. Rashes

4. Pain behind the eyes
5. Intense muscle and joint pain
6. Loss of appetite
7. Fatigue

Tips to prevent Dengue:

1. Avoid water stagnation in coolers, open areas, containers etc. By pouring a thin layer of kerosene oil over the stagnated areas to prevent the breeding of mosquito larvae.
2.  People are advised to wear full sleeves clothes to prevent transmission in the rainy season.
3. Mosquitoes frequently hang around in damp, dark areas. Make sure that there is plenty of sunlight in the room or house to keep mosquitoes out. Additionally, camphor may destroy many kinds of pests, so a smoky candle can be lighted every other day for roughly 30 minutes in the room.
4. As dengue mosquitoes usually bite during the daytime, it is advised to use a mosquito net while sleeping during the day and mosquito repellents in the form of roll-ons, sprays and sticks should be used.
5. Use aerosol during the day to prevent mosquito bites.

Diagnosis and Treatment:

1. Complete blood count test was done which gives information about platelet status, Dengue NS1 antigen, nucleic acid detection by PCR, etc...
2. Blood transfusions for platelets in severe cases as the platelet count eventually drop in dengue patients.
3. Though there are no antiviral medicines to treat dengue fever, early diagnosis and clinical treatment can help the patients.
4. Those suffering from dengue are advised to keep themselves hydrated.