Dengue – Health Information

hello everyone,

here’s an article i posted at our company’s other website, http://bechayv.wordpress.com sometime ago and am now posting here at my daily blog as this DISEASE is getting worse and affected close friends and relatives of mine.

five years ago, a real estate broker friend of mine passed away not realizing what the symptoms were and it was too late then.    please pass on to friends as we all know that being informed is always best.

Dengue – Health Information

Dengue Key Facts

•Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness, and sometimes a potentially lethal complication called dengue haemorrhagic fever.
•Global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades.
•About two fifths of the world’s population are now at risk.
•Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
•Dengue haemorrhagic fever is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some
•Asian countries.
•There is no specific treatment for dengue, but appropriate medical care frequently saves the lives of patients with the more serious dengue haemorrhagic fever.
•The only way to prevent dengue virus transmission is to combat the disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Transmission
Dengue is transmitted to people by the bite of an Aedes aegypti mosquito that is infected with a dengue virus. The mosquito becomes infected with dengue virus when it bites a person who has dengue virus in their blood. The person can either have symptoms of dengue fever or DHF, or they may have no symptoms. After about one week, the mosquito can then transmit the virus while biting a healthy person. Dengue cannot be spread directly from person to person.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever.
For (Dengue High Fever) DHF, medical care by physicians and nurses experienced with the effects and progression of the complicating haemorrhagic fever can frequently save lives – decreasing mortality rates from more than 20% to less than 1%.
Maintenance of the patient’s circulating fluid volume is the central
feature of DHF care.

Dengue First Aid

How to Care for the Patient While They Have a Fever:
•Bed rest. Let patient rest as much as possible.
•Control the fever.
•Only when prescribe by doctors, give acetaminophen or paracetamol every 6 hours (maximum 4 doses per day). Do not give ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) aspirin, or aspirin containing drugs.
•Sponge patient’s skin with cool water if fever stays high.
•Prevent dehydration which occurs when a person loses too much fluid (from high fevers, vomiting, or poor oral intake). Give plenty of fluids and watch for signs of dehydration.

Dengue First Aid

Bring patient to clinic or emergency room if any of the following signs develop:
• Decrease in urination (check number of wet diapers
or trips to the bathroom)
• Few or no tears when child cries
• Dry mouth, tongue or lips
• Sunken eyes
• Listlessness or overly agitated or confused
• Fast heart beat (more than 100/min)
• Cold or clammy fingers and toes
• Sunken fontanel (bunbunan) in infant

How to Care for the Patient While Fever is Going Away:
• Watch for warning signs as temperature declines 3 to 7 days after symptoms began.
Return IMMEDIATELY to clinic or emergency department if any of the following warning signs appear:
• Severe abdominal pain or persistent vomiting
• Red spots or patches on the skin
• Bleeding from nose or gums
• Vomiting blood
• Black, tarry stools
• Drowsiness or irritability
• Pale, cold, or clammy skin
• Difficulty breathing
•You should have available the name and telephone number of your doctor and ask for clarifications if needed.

General information about Aedes aegypti:
•Aedes aegypti, can transmit dengue. The dengue mosquito lays its eggs
on the walls of water-filled containers in the house and patio.
•The eggs hatch when submerged in water. Eggs can survive for months.
•Female mosquitoes lay dozens of eggs up to 5 times during their life
time.
•The mosquito life cycle, from egg to larvae, pupae, and to an adult
mosquito, takes 8 days and occurs in water. Adult mosquitoes live for
one month.
•Adult mosquitoes “usually” rest indoors in dark areas (closets, under
beds, behind curtains); only female mosquitoes bite humans.
•The dengue mosquito can fly several hundred yards looking for waterfilled
containers to lay their eggs.
•A few mosquitoes per household can produce large dengue outbreaks.
•The dengue mosquito does not lay eggs in ditches, drainages, canals,
wetlands, rivers or lakes; pouring chlorine into these habitats is useless.  Chlorine is harmful to aquatic life.

Dengue Prevention and Control

Common containers in which eggs develop into adult dengue mosquitoes:
A.Those that are filled with water by people
• Drums and water cisterns, buckets, plants in water, decorative fountains, broken water meters, animal drinking bowls, portable pools (not in use), potted plants and bases, open or unsealed septic tanks, or septic tanks lacking vent pipe screen.
B. Those that are filled with rain water
• Discarded tires, bottles, pots and pans, broken appliances (toilets, washbasins, refrigerators, washing machines).
• Items left outside such as garbage cans, paint trays, tarps, buckets and their lids, toys and coolers.
• Boats and other vehicles that can hold rain water.

Control of larvae and pupae to avoid production of adult mosquitoes:
• Throw away, turn over, empty or store under a roof any container that may accumulate rain water.
• Always place a tight lid on containers used for water storage (buckets, drums).
• Verify that there are no larvae or pupae in stored water (empty the
container, wash walls with a brush to remove eggs, rinse, and cover).
• Maintain running water in fountains, artificiallakes or estuaries. Place fish (guppies, betas) inornamental fountains that are always filled with water.
• Empty ornamental fountains that are not in use.
• Clean animal drinking bowls everyday, taking care to wash away eggs.

Mosquito Control:
• Regular fumigation on the area.
•Use screens on doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from coming into house.
• Use patio insecticides such as Permethrin (pesticide and repellent) and Allethrin (candles and lanterns).
• Wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, socks and closed shoes to avoid mosquito bites at dusk and dawn especially.
• Use repellents containing DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) or picaridin on your clothing and exposed skin. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for use.
•Maintain swimming pools in good condition and appropriately chlorinated. Empty inflateble swimming pools when not in use.
•Place patient under bed net or use insect repellent on the patient while they have a fever. Mosquitoes that bite the patient can go on to bite and infect others.

By following these simple guidelines, everybody’s safety and well-being is maintained and protected.
Protect yourself!!! Be informed!!!
Be Safe!!!