Geeky Nigeria
  • Home
  • News
  • Technology
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Contact Us
  • Surprise Me
  • Story Time
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Technology
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Contact Us
  • Surprise Me
  • Story Time
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Geeky Nigeria
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle

Dengue Fever: All You Need To Know

Revised by Suliat Sulaiman & Tom Ekpo

by Amarachi Amah
May 27, 2023
in Lifestyle

Dengue fever (break-bone fever) is a mosquito-borne viral infection caused by the dengue virus (DENV).

The most plausible early report of dengue fever dates as far back as the 1700s when the epidemic swept across Asia, North America, and Africa simultaneously. 

Dengue fever, however, is fast becoming a global burden with a dramatic increase in cases around the world.

According to WHO, the incidence of the fever has skyrocketed from 505,430 cases in 2000 to 5.2 million in 2019. 

While the drastic increase is alarming, the report has it that the exact number of cases is under-reported since a majority of cases are either without symptoms, mild, or self-managed.

Currently, dengue fever has become most prevalent in America, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, the Western Pacific, and in over 100 countries in the WHO region of Africa with over 3.9 billion people at risk of the infection and an estimated 100–400 million cases occurring each year.

Mode of Transmission

Humans are the primary host and source of the dengue virus.

The female Aedes species mosquitoes (Ae. aegypti or Ae. albopictus) become vectors of the dengue virus after a blood meal from viremic humans.

When the infected mosquito bites an uninfected individual, it introduces the dengue virus into his or her bloodstream and the cycle continues.

Dengue virus can also be transmitted from mother to child. An infected pregnant woman can pass the virus to her fetus during pregnancy or at birth. A higher risk of having preterm babies, babies with low birth weight, or even fetal distress exists in women who have dengue fever during pregnancy.

There are also rare cases of DENV being spread through blood transfusion, laboratory/healthcare setting exposures, and organ transplants.

Risk Factors

Individuals who have suffered dengue infection before are at a higher risk of developing severe dengue infection.

Environmental and social risk factors include:

  • High population density.
  • Low human mobility rate.
  • No access to reliable water sources.
  • Poor water storage practices.

Symptoms

Many people are asymptomatic of dengue infection. However, in some cases, the following symptoms are present:

  • Headache
  • Muscle, bone, or joint pain
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Pain behind the eyes
  • Swollen glands
  • Rash

Prevention and Control

The only preventive measure is to protect yourself from mosquito bites using insecticides, mosquito repellents, vaporisers, coils, and most importantly always sleeping in a treated mosquito net.

Also, ensure your home and environment have no breeding place for mosquitoes.

Complications 

Dengue fever becomes complicated when it develops into severe dengue fever.

Here, the blood vessels become damaged, and the number of blood platelets in the bloodstream drops. This can lead to shock, internal bleeding, organ failure, and even death.

Warning signs of severe dengue fever

  • Severe stomach pain
  • Persistent vomiting
  • Bleeding from the nose or gum
  • Blood in vomit, urine, and stool
  • Bleeding under the skin, which might look like bruises
  • Constant thirst 
  • Pale and cold skin
  • Difficult or rapid breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Irritability or restlessness

Treatment 

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever but the following approaches are helpful in relieving symptoms, especially in cases of severe infection.

  • Fluid replacement: This involves constant fluid intake to replace those lost from sweating, vomiting, and bleeding.
  • Use of analgesics to relieve pain.
  • Supportive care and monitoring in a hospital
  • Electrolyte replacement through intravenous means
  • Monitoring of blood pressure
  • Blood transfusion to replace blood lost during bleeding

Conclusion

To combat dengue infection, early detection and access to proper medical care are paramount and would greatly reduce fatality rates in severe cases.

However, a vaccine named Dengvaxia has been approved in countries with larger incidences of the infection but only individuals who have suffered the infection in the past can be protected by the vaccine.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

SendTweet76Share21
Previous Post

Why Skill Acquisition Is Important For Career Advancement

Next Post

How Intermittent Fasting Can Lead To Weight Loss

Amarachi Amah

Amarachi Amah

Amarachi Amah is an experienced content and scriptwriter who captivates and captures her readers’ attention with carefully articulated words. With tact, she incorporates the thoughts of her readers into meaningful, unique, educating and engaging reader-friendly content. Having a keen eye for detail, with outstanding research skills, she burrows on and off the net for in-depth information on any subject matter. She goes ahead to fuse her ideas into the information, sequentially so that they flow into one another with clarity and precision. When she is not writing, she engages in research for fun. She also loves challenges and brainstorming.

Related Posts

5 Steps To Become Consistent With Your Fitness
Lifestyle

5 Steps To Become Consistent With Your Fitness

September 26, 2023
10 Ways To Maintaining A Long-Lasting Relationship
Lifestyle

10 Ways To Maintaining A Long-Lasting Relationship

September 25, 2023
15 Proven Ways To Achieve Work-Life Balance
Lifestyle

15 Proven Ways To Achieve Work-Life Balance

September 25, 2023
8 Amazing Housewarming Gift Ideas
Lifestyle

8 Amazing Housewarming Gift Ideas

September 24, 2023
Vegetarian’s Delight: Discovering Plant-Based Nigerian Cuisine
Lifestyle

Vegetarian’s Delight: Discovering Plant-Based Nigerian Cuisine

September 22, 2023
Skincare
Lifestyle

10 Personal Skincare Routines To Maintaining A Healthy Skin

September 21, 2023

Recipes

  • Old-Fashioned Cake Doughnut Recipe

    1 hr Beginner
  • Breakfast Vibe With Yamarita

    50 mins Beginner
  • Crunchy Peanut Burger – Nutritious Snack For Everyone

    1 hr Beginner
  • Easy Pancake – Breakfast With Geeky Nigeria

    10 mins Beginner

Recommended

Inequality Education

Inequality In The Educational System: How To Reduce It

September 21, 2023
The Standard Of Education In Nigerian Public Schools

The Standard Of Education In Nigerian Public Schools

September 27, 2023
  • info@geeky.com.ng
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Donate
We publish quality contents for the development of Nigeria.

© 2023 Geeky Nigeria ( Winner - Best Technology & Lifestyle Blog 2023 by MEA Markets )

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Technology
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Contact Us
  • Surprise Me
  • Story Time
  • Donate

© 2023 Geeky Nigeria ( Winner - Best Technology & Lifestyle Blog 2023 by MEA Markets )

×

Log In

Forgot Password?
error: Content is protected !!