Dengue Fever: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Causes, and Treatment

The mosquitoes transmitting it are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. These bite during day time and breed in clean and fresh water and therefore protection from mosquitoes at night by nets and creams cannot prevent dengue.
Recovery from dengue does not take over a week unless the condition gets severe. Mostly asymptomatic, if the condition gets critical, dengue can be life-threatening.

While most mosquito bites tend to cause some itching and inflammation for a short while. There are some mosquitoes that become infected with viral or bacterial microorganisms – when such a mosquito bites a person, they can become infected with the disease. There are a number of different diseases today that are classified as mosquito-borne diseases.

Causes Of Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever is a viral infection that occurs when a mosquito infected with the virus bites a person and transmits the virus into the patient’s body. Only certain species of mosquitoes can become infected with the virus. Most commonly, the virus infects Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Only female mosquitoes can become infected with the virus and transmit it to a patient.
The spread of the dengue virus cannot happen directly from one person to another. It is not contagious and cannot spread through direct human contact.

Signs and symptoms

Dengue fever can range in severity from a mild flu-like illness, to a condition that produces severe, debilitating symptoms. The onset of symptoms is usually sudden and initial symptoms commonly include: 

• High fever
• Headache
• Pain in the muscles and joints – particularly in the legs
• Pain behind the eyes – particularly when moving them
• Red eyes
• Nausea and vomiting
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• A red flush to the face
• Lower back pain
• weakness
• fatigue

Diagnosis of Dengue:

Mostly doctors suggest getting a blood test done to check for dengue virus. But many of the specialists identify the fever just from the appearance of the baby.

The doctors may ask you about the symptoms and exposure to mosquitoes of your baby and more. A complete blood picture is also taken to identify the severity of infection since the blood platelets will be badly affected.
A diagnosis of dengue fever is commonly made when a person presents the typical clinical symptoms of fever, headache, severe muscle aches, eye pain, and rash and has a history of being in an area where dengue fever is endemic. Dengue fever may be hard to diagnose because its symptoms overlap with ones of a number of other viral illnesses such as, ‘Chikungunya fever,’ and West Nile virus.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for dengue. The doctor may advise you to take plenty of rest, fluids, and provide you painkillers. There are no specific antiviral medicines for dengue. Even while prescribing pain-killers, paracetamol is recommended for treating pain and fever. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are never prescribed.

• Wear light-colored, protective clothing, covering as much of the body as possible.
• Use an insect repellent on exposed skin and clothing, especially around dawn and dusk when the Aedes mosquito is most active.
• Use insecticide sprays to kill mosquitoes.
• Avoid areas where the mosquitoes breed (normally in standing water in domestic containers, around urban areas). You can also remove such sources of water or cover them to prevent access by mosquitoes.
• Encouraging adequate fluid intake.
• Pain relieving medications such as paracetamol – which can help to relieve discomfort and to reduce the fever.
• Get lots of rest.
• Transferring blood under doctor diagnosis.
• Special care at Hospital.
• Continues Observation.
• Try to maintain distance from a heavily populated housing or residential area.
• Use air conditioning whenever you are indoors.
• Shut all the windows and doors at your home especially during the evening.
• Try to avoid keeping stagnant water near your home. Clean your sewers and take steps to prevent water clogging in your area.
• Intravenous (IV) fluids may be given to help prevent shock.
• The first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, was made available in Mexico in December 2015.

This live vaccine, which covers all four dengue subtypes, is given to people ages 9 to 45 as a three-dose series.

Dengvaxia has been shown to prevent about 59 percent of dengue cases.