|
 What
is dengue?
Dengue is a flu-like ‘often severe’ viral illness spread
amongst humans by the bites of Aedes
mosquitoes. High fever, severe headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea and
vomiting are common symptoms and are frequently accompanied by a rash.
What is dengue haemorrhagic
fever?
Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever
(DHF) is a sometimes fatal complication of dengue characterized by high fever
and a tendency to bleed. After a few days of fever the patient’s condition
may rapidly deteriorate, leading to circulatory failure. Death can follow
within 12 to 24 hours of proper hospital care is not provided.
Facts
about dengue and DHF:
Dengue
and DHF are now endemic in more than 100 tropical and subtropical countries /
areas of the Americas, the
Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, the Western Pacific and Africa.
There
is no specific treatment for dengue and DHF. However, appropriate care
provided by experienced physicians and nurses frequently saves lives of DHF
patients. Maintaining the proper fluid balance in the body is paramount to
managing DHF.
Dengue
often spreads rapidly, affecting a great number of people during epidemics.
In the most severely affected countries / areas children are the most
vulnerable group.
Dengue
is an environmental issue. Population growth, particularly in urban areas,
and inadequate water and sanitation services have produced conditions favourable for mosquitoes to breed and viruses to spread.
What
is the burden of disease caused by dengue and DHF?
WHO
estimates that:
 there are 50 million infections worldwide
every year resulting in around 24 000 deaths, mostly among children;
at least 2.5 million
people – two fifths of the world’s population – are at risk of infection.
|
Aedes aegypti, the
most important dengue mosquito, breeds in collections of water inside and
close to dwellings. Domestic water storage containers such as earthenware
jars, metal drums and concrete cisterns are commonly infested, as are discarded
tyres, food containers and flower vases.
|
What
is the impact of dengue and DHF?
Dengue and DHF represent a significant economic
burden on the communities affected. They result in:
loss of lives;
considerable expense to the family for the
hospitalization and care of the patient, in addition to travel costs;
loss of work among patients and their carers;
considerable expense
to local municipalities for mosquito control activities.
Disruption of health care services and
economies, including loss of tourism revenue.
|
The cost of control measures
and medical services during the 1981 epidemic of DHF in Cuba was over US $ 100 million.
|
What
measures are being taken to prevent and control dengue and DHF?
To reduce the burden caused by dengue and DHF, WHO
is promoting implementation of the global Strategy.
What
is the Global Strategy?
The Global Strategy provides the basis for regional and
national programme planning and integrates the
following essential elements:
Application of mosquito control measure
through:
 removal or protection of containers where
mosquitoes breed;
chemical control via application of
insecticides to kill larvae in water containers or as sprays to kill adult
mosquitoes during outbreaks;
biological control using small fish or tiny
predatory freshwater crustaceans called copepods that are very effective in
controlling mosquitoes in water storage containers and wells;
improvement of water
and sanitation services.
Active surveillance of disease, virus
transmission and mosquitoes, based on a strong health information system.
Emergency preparedness for dengue outbreaks:
development of emergency and contingency
plans;
education of the medical community;
emergency mosquito
control using health communication strategies to inform the population about
action to be taken.
Capacity building and training in order for
heath workers to improve their skills and actions on surveillance, laboratory
diagnosis, management of the illness and mosquito control.
Social mobilization of communities and
decision-makers to incorporate dengue prevention and control in their aims
and activities
Changes in behaviour
through effective communication strategies aimed at influencing behaviour among individuals, households, communities,
institutions and decision-makers.
|
