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Defeating dengue
Strategies for effective management in communities on the rise
DR NUR-A-SAFRINA RAHMAN
Dengue is a viral disease that is mostly spread by the bites of sick Aedes mosquitoes, especially Aedes aegypti . Mosquitoes get the dengue virus when they feed on people who already have it in their blood.
Scientists have made a surprising discovery: people can pass diseases to mosquitoes even before they show signs, and this can happen for up to two days after the fever goes away. This important discovery sheds new light on how people and mosquitoes interact with each other and has big effects on how to stop and control diseases.
Experts have found several things that make it more likely for serious dengue to happen. Some of these factors are having had dengue before, moving to a city, living in an uncontrolled city, having a lot of people in a small area, not storing water well, and the effects of climate change.
Signs and symptoms:
Dengue fever has many signs, such as a high fever that comes on quickly, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, pain in the joints and muscles.
Other common signs are tiredness, sickness, vomiting, a rash on the skin, light bleeding, and symptoms that are similar to the flu.
Most cases of dengue are mild and usually go away in 1 to 2 weeks. But it is important to remember that a small number of these cases could get worse and turn into severe dengue, which has a number of scary signs. Among these symptoms are severe stomach pain, constant vomiting, bleeding from the gums or nose, extreme tiredness, restlessness, pale skin.
Investigation:
In order to find a quick way to tell if someone has dengue, doctors have turned to blood tests as an effective way to find the virus or antibodies.
When a patient comes in with a fever within the first week after it started, they should have an IgM test and a NS1Ag test for the detection of dengue virus.
At the end of the illness, at least four days after the fever started, testing for IgM antibodies can help detect the illness.
On the other hand, IgG antibody testing alone with a single blood sample is not enough to make a diagnosis. This is because IgG antibodies can be found in a person for the rest of their lives after they have been infected with the dengue virus.
Treatment:
Dengue does not have a targeted antiviral treatment or way to stop it at the moment, which is important to know for treatment and avoidance. The main goal of medical treatment is to treat the patient’s symptoms and give them the care they need. Pain relievers that contain acetaminophen are suggested, while aspirin and ibuprofen should be avoided because they can increase the chance of bleeding.
One of the important issues in the treatment of dengue is the maintenance of body fluid. Although most cases can be handled at home, patients should pay attention to it once the condition is not improved by caring at home. Patients should immediately seek care at the hospitals.
Prevention:
Dengue protection has become a very important issue, and people are taking steps to protect themselves from getting the disease by avoiding mosquito bites. People are told to take a number of safety steps to protect themselves from mosquitoes. Some of these are using mosquito repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothes, keeping your windows and doors screened, and getting rid of places where mosquitoes might be able to breed, like places where water pools.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Dengvaxia vaccine to prevent dengue in people aged 9 to 16 who have already had the disease in the United States. But Dengvaxia is still not available to the general public as a way to protect against initial infections in most of the countries of the world. There are still studies going on to find more potential candidates for a dengue vaccine.
Dengue fever continues to be a big public health problem around the world, especially in tropical and warm areas. In the fight against dengue, early diagnosis, supportive care, and successful mosquito control have become important pillars for keeping the disease under control and reducing its effects.
The writer is a public health specialist. E-mail: safrinarahman16@gmail.com