Dengue fever is a viral infection that is common in many tropical countries such as the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Asia. This endemic disease, which is frequently encountered in the local population of the region, may also threaten people traveling to risky areas, causing the number of people infected with the disease to increase. Although the disease is generally mild and people recover within a week, the risk of shock, internal bleeding and death is also high in cases with severe symptoms.
What is Dengue Fever?
Dengue fever is a viral disease common in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of an Aedes species mosquito. There are four different dengue viruses (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4) spread by Aedes mosquitoes. A person can get all 4 different types of dengue fever. People who contract dengue fever for the second time are likely to have more severe symptoms than the first time. Dengue fever may also be called bone fracture fever because it causes pain as severe as a broken bone in some patients.
In Which Countries Does Dengue Fever Exist?
Dengue fever has been prevalent in many countries since the 1960s, especially in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. In addition, European countries such as Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Malta are other countries where dengue fever is seen. Almost half of the world’s population lives in areas at risk of dengue fever. There is an increase in the number of dengue fever due to travel to these highly touristic regions. Different types of dengue virus have been seen in the Middle Eastern countries neighboring Turkey. There is also a risk for passengers traveling to these countries.
What are the Risk Factors Causing the Increase in Dengue Fever?
- Problem of access to reliable water sources
How to Cure Dengue Fever?
Dengue fever is not transmitted directly from one person to another like the flu. Rarely, transmission can occur through blood transfusion, organ transplantation, or injections or injuries from an infected person. Apart from these special cases, there are several common ways of transmission of dengue fever:
- Risk of Transmission through Mosquito Bite: The most common means of transmission of dengue fever, which is a viral disease, is through Aedes species mosquitoes. The virus passes from the mosquito’s salivary glands to its midgut and multiplies there. The virus incubates in the mosquito’s intestine for approximately 8-12 days until it is transmitted to the host. Especially mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti, Aedes scutellaris and Aedes katherinensis species can transmit this virus to humans throughout their lives through bites.
- Risk of Human-to-Mosquito Transmission: People who contract dengue fever are viremic for about 4-5 days. This period may extend up to 12 days depending on the severity of the disease and viral load. In patients infected with the virus, the viral load is high 2 days before the symptoms appear and 2 days after the fever disappears. During this time period, there is a high risk of transmitting dengue virus to a mosquito that bites an infected patient.
- Maternal Transmission: It has been observed that mothers infected through mosquito bites in risky areas also transmit the disease to their babies. Since the severe course of the disease will endanger the pregnancy, it may lead to the termination of some pregnancies.
Is Dengue Fever Fatal?
Dengue fever, which usually has mild symptoms, can be fatal in cases with severe symptoms or accompanied by other diseases. It is known that approximately 400 million people contract dengue fever every year. Approximately 100 million people infected with the disease have serious symptoms, while 40,000 people die due to dengue fever.
What are the symptoms of dengue fever?
Dengue fever can be symptomatic and asymptomatic. Symptoms that can often be confused with flu begin to appear in infected people within the first 1 to 4 days. Most dengue infections are asymptomatic. Disease symptoms are milder in young children, but adults may sometimes have moderate or severe symptoms.
Common symptoms of dengue fever include:
Mild symptoms:
- Redness and pain in the eyes
Severe symptoms:
- Fast and difficult breathing
- Sudden bruising on the skin
Mild symptoms of dengue fever last for 2 to 7 days. It usually disappears spontaneously. Dengue fever patients with severe symptoms may be at risk of shock, internal bleeding and even death. If there are severe symptoms that begin 24-48 hours after the fever subsides, the patient should seek medical help without delay.
How to Diagnose Dengue Fever?
There is no specific testing method to diagnose dengue fever. In dengue fever, the virus can be isolated from blood for up to 5 days after infection. Physicians use serological and virological tests to diagnose the disease. While virological tests look for the presence of viruses in blood samples taken, serological tests evaluate antibodies in the blood to confirm infection.
How to Treat Dengue Fever?
There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. In mild cases, painkillers can be used to prevent joint and headaches. It is recommended for patients with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea to drink plenty of fluids. Intravenous fluids and electrolytes are given to patients with excessive fluid loss to prevent disruption of body homeostasis. Aspirin-derived blood thinners or painkillers containing ibuprofen, which may increase the risk of bleeding in dengue fever, should not be used. Symptoms of the disease appear after high fever. In case of persistent or worsening symptoms, the patient should be taken to the nearest health institution.
How to Prevent Dengue Fever?
Dengue fever is transmitted through mosquito bites. Apart from dengue fever, Aedes mosquitoes also cause the spread of chikungunya and Zika viruses. The easiest and most effective way to prevent dengue fever is to take preventive measures against mosquito bites.
Some precautions that can be taken against dengue fever are:
- Use mosquito repellent. Choose approved and safe mosquito repellants that contain active ingredients effective against mosquitoes (DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, Lemon eucalyptus oil (OLE), Para-menthane-diol (PMD), 2-undecanone).
- If you plan to travel to risky areas, take clothes that will cover your skin (boots, trousers, socks, long-sleeved tops).
- Treat your clothing or bedding with a product such as permethrin, an insecticide that kills or repels mosquitoes.
- Use screens to prevent mosquitoes from coming through windows and doors. Check wires frequently and repair any damage to keep mosquitoes out.
- When planning a trip, choose hotels with fly screens on the doors and windows. If possible, always run the air conditioner in your room. If there is no mosquito net and air conditioning, you can use a mosquito net that will completely cover your quality bed.
- Frequently check, change or empty bird baths, pet dishes and flower pots where mosquitoes can easily breed.
Dengue Fever Vaccine
There is a vaccine approved in areas at risk for dengue fever, although it is not allowed for use by everyone. This vaccine is administered for the 9-16 age group. If you are infected with dengue fever and encounter a different dengue virus, your chance of severe disease increases. Therefore, dengue vaccine is not recommended for people who have not had dengue before.
