Dengue fever
(Information taken from Swedish web-site, 2015-01-13)
Generally
The picture shows what the mosquito that spreads Dengue looks like.
Dengue fever is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms. The virus is spread by mosquitoes and is found in many countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. During rainy periods, the disease can spread quickly; every year more than a hundred Swedish travelers get dengue fever. Most are infected in Thailand. It takes between two to ten days from infection until the disease breaks out. Dengue fever usually resolves within a week, but many feel tired for up to a month afterwards, sometimes even longer. Upon recovery, the body develops resistance but only to the variant of the virus you have been affected by. Dengue virus comes in four different variants so the risk of being infected by the other virus types remains. Some people who become infected can become seriously ill and need hospital treatment, but this is very unusual. Those who get dengue fever for the second, third or fourth time increase the risk of becoming seriously ill, but the risk is still low.
The mosquitoes that spread the virus are of an aggressive nature and are active during the day. Mosquito repellent and protective clothing can be helpful and protect against other diseases transmitted via mosquitoes as well. There is no vaccine against dengue fever so research is ongoing. The disease is not transmitted between people.
Symptoms appear quickly:
• reddened eyes
• high fever with chills and sweating
• headache and pain behind the eyes
• severe pain in the muscles
• small red dots on the body
Slightly larger bruises after a few days are symptoms of a more serious form of dengue fever.
Treatment:
In severe cases liquid supply via drip.
When to seek care: In case of high fever during or after a trip abroad in countries where the disease is present, seek care directly at a health center or emergency department of a hospital.
Comments from a person after suffering from dengue fever:
Seek hospital care if you have flu-like symptoms such as high fever and severe muscle pain – seek care on site in Thailand as they are the best in the world at treating dengue fever. The faster, the better because the body quickly becomes dehydrated and there is a high risk of internal bleeding. You can find out if you have the disease by taking a blood sample. Dengue fever affects the internal organs and especially the liver; therefore pills containing paracetamol should be avoided.
The disease has three phases:
1) the initial phase with high fever / muscle pain that can last for up to seven days
2) the acute phase that lasts for a maximum of 3 days
3) the recreation / recovery phase that takes different lengths of time for different individuals.
Those who seek care and are treated survive. There are probably 4-5 different strains of dengue mosquitoes. You will most likely become immune to the strain you have been stung by. Protect yourself by using mosquito spray and spraying indoors against mosquitoes as well. The dengue mosquito is a day mosquito.
My liver values are poor after the disease, which makes me slow and weak. I will follow up my values with the family doctor in Sweden. I do not eat medicine but have been prescribed to avoid alcohol, paracetamol and health food supplement until the liver values are within the recommended range.
Research is being done in the field to develop a vaccine. I will continue to travel to Thailand. If I feel similar symptoms, I will seek medical attention immediately.