Dengue Awareness

Authors: We chose Dengue awareness as our topic. Due to alarming rate of Dengue cases in the Phillipines. We want to less people harm into the virus borne infection that can lead to a severe flu like illness named “Dengue”

Mosquito sucking blood on human skin with nature background

Here are the info’s about the virus named dengue:

Dengue is the fastest spreading vector-borne disease in the world endemic in 100 countries in Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Dengue has a vaccine called “Dengvaxia” but in the Philippines they have a problem using the vaccine because many users died after they inject it.
On average, 170,503 symptomatic DENV infections and 750 deaths were officially reported to the Philippines Department of Health (DoH) annually from 2010 to 2014,
The best way to prevent dengue is to avoid mosquito bites.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is not the main cause of the disease, it is the vector that transmits the virus.

Transmission

Dengue virus is transmitted by day biting Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

Causes:

Dengue virus has four serotypes (DENV1, DENV2, DENV3 and DENV4)
First infection with one of the four serotypes usually is non-severe or asymptomatic, while second infection with one of other serotypes may cause severe dengue.

Methods of Diseases Transmission:

It is transmitted from one person to another by the bites of Aedes aegypti mosquitos that generally acquire the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person. The mosquito then can transmit the virus while biting a healthy person and feeding on his blood. Patients who are already infected with the dengue virus can transmit the infection via the mosquitoes after the first symptoms appear during 4-5 days (up to 7 days).

Before we go to the symptoms and how to treat the dengue we have some trivia about the mosquito “aedes aegypti”

It is a dark-colored mosquito with white markings on its legs and white dots on its body.
The mosquito is not the main cause of the disease, but is just a vector for transmitting the virus form one person to another.
Within the mosquito, the virus infects the mosquito mid-gut and subsequently spreads to the salivary glands over an incubation period of 8-12 days, and then can transmit the disease for the rest of its life.
The peak periods for mosquito bites are early morning and before sunset.
Every time a female mosquito needs food, it will bite several people.

Here are the symptoms of dengue

Symptoms vary depending on the severity of the disease.

Mild dengue fever

Symptoms can appear up to 7 days after being bitten by the mosquito that carries the virus.

They include:

aching muscles and joints
body rash that can disappear and then reappear
high fever
intense headache
pain behind the eyes
vomiting and feeling nauseous

Symptoms usually disappear after a week, and mild dengue rarely involves serious or fatal complications.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever

At first, symptoms of DHF may be mild, but they gradually worsen within a few days. As well as mild dengue symptoms, there may be signs of internal bleeding.

A person with Dengue hemorrhagic fever may experience:

bleeding from the mouth, gums, or nose
clammy skin
damage to lymph and blood vessels
internal bleeding, which can lead to black vomit and feces, or stools
a lower number of platelets in the blood
sensitive stomach
small blood spots under the skin
weak pulse

Without prompt treatment, DHF can be fatal.

Image result for dengue hemorrhagic fever

Dengue shock syndrome

DSS is a severe form of dengue. It can be fatal.

Apart from symptoms of mild dengue fever, the person may experience:

intense stomach pain
disorientation
sudden hypotension, or a fast drop in blood pressure
heavy bleeding
regular vomiting
blood vessels leaking fluid

Image result for dengue shock syndrome patient

Without treatment, this can result in death.

Here are the some cases of Dengue in the Philippines:

Image result for dengue cases — Data from the DOH showed that a total of 179,540 dengue cases were admitted in various government hospitals from Jan. 1 to Nov. 17.

Prevention and control

At present, the main method to control or prevent the transmission of dengue virus is to combat vector mosquitoes through:

Preventing mosquitoes from accessing egg-laying habitats by environmental management and modification.

Disposing of solid waste properly and removing artificial man-made habitats;

covering, emptying and cleaning of domestic water storage containers on a weekly basis;

using of personal household protection measures, such as window screens, long-sleeved clothes, repellents, insecticide treated materials, coils and vaporizers (These measures have to be observed during the day both at home and place of work since the mosquito bites during the day);

applying insecticides as space spraying during outbreaks as one of the emergency vector-control measures.

Image result for 4s of dengue — This is the advocacy of DHO(Department of Health) in how to prevent dengue:

Trivias:

Dengue is nicknamed ‘breakbone fever’.
The disease is spread by the same type of mosquito as Zika.
There is no specific treatment.
Despite its growing incidence, dengue control efforts remain underfunded and neglected.

QUOTATIONS FROM THE AUTHORS:

“Prevention is better than cure so prevent breeding of mosquitoes and prevent dengue.”
– John Vince
” A responsible person deserves his life “
-Zayin

SPECIAL THANKS

To our family, friends, STEM 12 A, to our person that we interviewed and specially to Ma’am Faith

VIDEOS
These people are asked what they know about dengue and how to avoid dengue