Dengue fever is a painful, viral disease of the tropics, transmitted by mosquitoes, that causes sudden fever and acute pain in the joints
Dengue comes in two forms; Dengue Fever (DF) and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF).
Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes Mosquito infected with a dengue virus
The mosquito becomes infected when it bit’s a person with dengue virus in their blood.
Aedes Mosquit’s tend to bite people more during the daytime
The peak feeding time for these mosquitoes usually occurs around the early hours of the morning or evening just before dusk. People who prefer to go outdoors during these periods should be extra cautious.
Mosquitoes are mainly attracted to carbon dioxide and body heat
Scent can also play a role. Your sweat and other skin secretions can potentially attract more bit’s than another individual. Evidence suggests mosquitoes tend to prefer men over women, adults over children and larger people over smaller ones.
Only Female Mosquitoes are Dengue Carriers
The virus are only carried and spread by female Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes as the human blood is rich in protein necessary for their production of eggs. Male mosquitoes only rely on the plant nectars as their food for survival.
Symptoms usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days
Symptoms usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days
Symptoms may include; high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, Nausea, Vomiting, skin rash, mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising).
There is no specific medicine to treat dengue infection.
If you start to display symptoms in the first 24 hours, you should get to a hospital immediately to be checked for complications.
Dengue Patients should never take asprin
Aspirin can intensify the bleeding of a dengue fever patient and increase the fatality of the complications because of its anticoagulant properties. Most of the time, Paracetamol is recommended to patients in relieving his or her fever and pain. Antibiotics won’t work because dengue is a virus and not a bacteria that could be treated by antibiotic medications.
Those are the above mentioned facts about dengue fever and mosquitoes that we need to keep in mind for us to prevent this disease early. Although mosquitoes are just tiny insects that fly around us, they are capable of taking down our body. Prevention is better than cure.
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Fact Sheet for Dengue fever
