The virus that causes dengue is mostly spread via the bite of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. There are no indications of dengue and severe symptoms that resemble the flu. A small proportion of people develop severe dengue, which can be fatal.

Dengue serotypes are groups of four closely related dengue viruses. Recovery from infection confers immunity against that serotype of dengue, but it also raises the chance of developing severe dengue if patients contract a different serotype later.

Every year, dengue infections affect millions of people globally. Southeast Asia, the western Pacific islands, Latin America, and Africa are where dengue fever is most prevalent. Localized outbreaks of the disease have been reported in Europe and the southern United States, among other new locations.

The development of dengue fever vaccines is ongoing. For now, in areas where dengue fever is common, the best ways to prevent infection are to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and to take steps to reduce the mosquito population.

Who does dengue fever affect?

Africa, Central and South America, some regions of Asia, and the Pacific Islands are where dengue is most frequently found. Dengue is present in a few areas of the United States. More than half of the world’s population, who reside or travel to these areas, are most at risk. The chance of developing a major illness is higher in children and the elderly.

How common is dengue fever?

Around 96 million of the 400 million dengue infections that are reported each year around the world result in disease. Most occurrences occur in tropical regions of the world, with the following regions having the highest risk:

• The continent of India
• Asia-Pacific is
• China’s south
• Taiwan
• Islands in the Pacific
• Atlantic Ocean (except Cuba and the Cayman Islands)
• Mexico
• Africa
• South and Central America (except Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina)

The majority of cases in the US are visitors who caught the virus abroad. However, those who reside near the Texas-Mexico border as well as in other southern US regions are at an increased danger. A dengue fever outbreak was discovered in 2014 in Hawaii, with earlier outbreaks being reported in 2013 in Brownsville, Texas, and Key West, Florida.

Symptoms

Many persons may not exhibit any symptoms or indicators of dengue illness. When symptoms do show up, they typically start four to ten days after being bitten by an infected mosquito and may be mistaken for other ailments, like the flu.

Any of the following signs and symptoms, as well as a high fever of 104 F (40 C), are brought on by dengue fever:

• Headache
• joint, muscle, or bone pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• back of the eyes hurt
• enlarged glands
• Rash

Most folks get better in about a week. In some cases, symptoms worsen and can become life-threatening. This is called severe dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome.

Your blood vessels become damaged and leaky with severe dengue. Additionally, the quantity of platelets in your blood decreases. Shock, internal bleeding, organ failure, and even death may result from this.

There can be speedy development of severe dengue fever warning signs, which is a life-threatening emergency. The warning signals, which may include the following, may appear within the first day or two after your fever has subsided.

• Severe stomach pain
• continual vomiting
• bleeding from the nose or gums
• Having blood in your faeces, urine, or vomit
• under-the-skin bleeding that may resemble bruises
• arduous or quick
• Fatigue
• Easily irritated or restless

Causes

Any one of the four dengue virus types can cause dengue fever. Being around someone who has dengue fever won’t cause you to catch it. In contrast, mosquito bites are how dengue disease is transmitted.

There are two mosquito species that carry dengue viruses most frequently are widespread in and around residential areas. The dengue virus enters the mosquito when it bites a person who is afflicted with it. The virus then enters the bloodstream of the person who is bitten by the infected mosquito. This can produces an infection.

Once you have recovered from dengue fever, you are immune to the virus type that caused your infection for life, but not to the other three types that cause dengue fever. This implies that one of the other three virus types could infect you once more in the future. In the event that you contract dengue fever a second, third, or fourth time, your risk of acquiring severe dengue fever rises.

Risk elements

You are more likely to have dengue fever or a more severe version of the illness, if,

You frequent or reside in tropical locales. A higher risk of contracting the virus that causes dengue fever exist if you live in tropical or subtropical regions. Southeast Asia, the western Pacific islands, Latin America, and Africa are regions with very high risk.

You’ve previously experienced dengue fever. If you have already had dengue fever, you are more likely to experience severe symptoms if you contract the virus again.

REFERENCES:

• https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/en/learn/mosquito-borne-diseases/dengue
• https://dndi.org/diseases/dengue/facts/?
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dengue-fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20353078
• https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dengue-fever-reference
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17753-dengue-fever

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