Dengue - A Globally Treacherous Disease

Abstract

Dengue fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by flavivirus. Most cases occur in tropical areas of the world like India, Southeast Asia, Southern China, Taiwan, Mexico, Africa, Central and South America etc.

Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito (Aedes.aegypti) which is infected by flavivirus. The mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with dengue virus in their blood. It can't be spread directly from one person to another person. Symptoms include fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, red spots on the legs, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic red color skin rashes. Sometimes the disease develops into life-threatening Dengue Hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into Dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs. Prevention depends on control and protection from the bites of the mosquito that transmits it. Paracetamol can be taken, but Aspirin should be avoided. Apart from working to develop a vaccine against dengue, there are ongoing efforts to develop antiviral drugs used to treat attacks of dengue fever and prevent severe complications.