What is it?

Dengue Fever is a disease resulting from the bite of a special type of mosquito (the socalled Aedes mosquito) carrying the Dengue virus. Aedes mosquitoes usually bite humans during daytime and are common in Thailand (and even in Bangkok) during the rainy season. There are 2 types of Dengue infections: Sample Dengue Fever (DF) and the more severe form, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF).

What are the Symptoms?

Symptoms for DF are high fever (up to 39 and 40 ^oC), headache, stomach/abdominal pain, muscles/joint pain, rash, etc. Occasionally there might be vomiting, sore throat as well as pinpoint subcutaneous (under-the-skin) types of bleeding (petechiae). Simple DF is usually benign : most symptoms will gradually disappear in just a few days. The symptom for DHF are generally the same as for DF but considerably more severe. The high fever will be continuous for 2 to 7 days. In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, there might be nose and gum bleeding, stomach and intestinal bleeding (leading to black stools and/or vomiting blood). Patients might look lethargic and have a tender/swollen liver. In severe cases there will be a dramatic drop of blood pressure that can put the patient in a state of shock, With proper treatment, the duration of DHF is 7 to 10 days.

What should one do?

Any patient suspecting DF infection, should consult a doctor as soon as possible. A physical examination and a blood check will be necessary to arrive at a correct diagnosis. Subsequent home treatment will consist of bed rest during the fever-phase, of taking paracetamol (or revert to sponging) to keep the body temperature down, of talking painkillers against the pains mentioned above and of increasing the intake of (preferably electrolytic) fluids to counteract the effects of the vomiting and/or the diarrha. If fever persists and in the case of severe symptoms (such as will be the case for DHF) the patient will need to stay in the hospital I order to receive intra-venous fluid hydration and shock prevention treatment. The best way to avoid the DF infection is to avoid daytime mosquito biting by using mosquito repellent creams or ointments. A complementary preventive approach is to control the Aedes mosquito population itself by insecticide spraying or by the elimination of its breeding places (e.g. containers with standing water in or around the house.) The development of a DF vaccine is now in progress and should be available a few years from now.