Some Philippine provinces declared a dengue fever outbreak due to rains and floods. 4 died in the municipality of San Rafael in the province of Bulacan.
Bulacan recorded 2,622 cases of Dengue which is twice as much as last year. The provinces of Abra and Pangasinan are also affected.
Here are five things you may not know about Dengue Fever.
- Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease of humans and the most important tropical disease in Latin America and Asia. It affects 70–500 million people per year and is endemic in more than 120 countries across the world.
- Dengue is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, principally by Aedes aegypti or less frequently by Aedes albopictus or Aedes polynesiensis. Mosquitoes bite infected humans and pick up the virus. After a short incubation period (8–12 days) the virus can be rapidly transmitted to other humans by subsequent mosquito bites. The mosquito remains infected for the rest of its life.
- The disease manifests as a sudden onset of severe headache, chills, pain upon moving the eyes, and low backache. Painful aching in the legs and joints (myalgias and arthralgias—severe pain that gives it the nickname break-bone fever or Bonecrusher disease) occurs during the first hours of illness.
- To prevent Dengue, Eliminated Mosquitoes by getting rid of stagnant water containers around your residence or place of work, this is where the mosquitoes breed, and smoke the mosquitoes. Use an appropriate net to avoid mosquito bites if you stay close to the lake/pond/canal.
- Because dengue is caused by a virus, there is no specific medicine or antibiotic to treat it, the only treatment is to treat the symptoms. For typical dengue, the treatment is purely concerned with the relief of the symptoms (symptomatic). Rest and fluid intake for adequate hydration is important.
You may want to read: