Dengue Fever
Breakbone Fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito born illness
Dengue is a fever that is primarily found in tropical regions like South America and Latin America, however there have been a few cases in the United states.Some rare cases in can result in dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is often fatal.
Breakbone fever
The nickname for Dengue fever is Breakbone fever because of the severe muscle and joint pain that usually comes along with the fever. No bones are actually broken, however the pain can be just as bad as constantly having a bone broken over and over again. Other symptoms include a bad rash, very high fever, bleeding from the eyes or nose.
Each year 400,000,000 people become infected with dengue fever and that number is increasing
There is no cure or vaccine for Dengue Fever
Strains of Dengue
There are five different strains of dengue fever. When a person contracts one, they build an immunity to that particular strain. However, the four strains are very similar so your immune system is tricked into believe that is the strain that you are already immune to. This usually results in dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is a much more severe version of standard dengue fever. Symptoms include an enlarged liver, weak pulse, shock, seizures and brain damage, and gastrointestinal bleeding. 50% of people who go into shock do not survive.
Dengue stats and treatment
Standard Dengue has a fatality rate of 5%, but that percentage greatly increases once a person goes into dengue hemorrhagic fever or shock. People can take pain relievers, but since there is no specific treatment, the best defense is to avoid mosquitos.
Dengue virus infection