Causes of Dengue Fever
The cause of dengue fever is the Aedes Egypti mosquito. Refer to "The Mosquito" page to learn more about it.
Symptoms
- During a mild case of dengue fever, there may be no symptoms experienced
- Symptoms begin usually 4-10 days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito
- Fever as high as 106 F/41 C
- Headaches
- Muscle, bone, and joint pain
- Pain behind eyes
- Widespread rash
- Nausea and vomiting
- Minor bleeding from gums and nose (rare)
- Most people recover from dengue fever within a week, but some cases may become more life-threatening
- When it becomes life threatening:
- Bleeding from nose and mouth
- Severe abdominal pain
- Persistent vomiting
- Bleeding under the skin that looks like bleeding
- Problems with lungs, liver, and heart
Treatment
- There is no specific treatment for dengue fever that exists
- Drinking lots of fluids to avoid vomiting, high fever and dehydration
- Pain relievers such a Tylenol to reduce fever, but avoid pain relievers such a ibuprofen and aspirin that can increase bleeding complications
- If you have severe dengue fever
- Hospitalization
- IV fluid and electrolyte replacement
- Blood pressure monitoring
- Transfusion to replace blood loss
Why is Dengue Fever becoming more prevalent?
More people are traveling, that is how it gets brought to new countries. Dengue has become the leading cause of illness to travelers returning with acute fevers. There are also increasing rates of pesticide resistance among the two types of mosquitos responsible for transmitting dengue. There’s also just a lack of good methods in which to control this disease from spreading.