Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever
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Dengue Fever
Epidemiology
Dengue fever is a tropical disease that is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes that have been infected with the dengue virus. The mosquito gets this infection when it bites an individual who has been infected with the virus, and it can be directly spread from one individual to another. The main cause of the Dengue virus is a group of four viruses known as serotypes and they are highly related, and they include (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4) (Jiménez-Silva, et al., 2018). The population of patients who get the disease varies widely, with evidence showing that most cases take place in tropical regions of the world. Areas that are most prevalent include the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Southern China, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, Africa, and South and Central America. According to scholars, dengue fever poses a threat to more than one-third of the human population across the world. Statistics indicate that millions of people are infected with the dengue virus every year and more than half of these cases usually result in disease. The dengue fever is regarded as a painful and debilitating disease and it is closely associated with viruses that cause yellow fever and West Nile infection.
The risk factors of being infected by the disease usually depend on the region where people reside. For instance, evidence indicates that individuals who live in tropical and subtropical countries are at the highest risk of being exposed and infected by the disease. Furthermore, people who travel to other regions and countries that have a higher prevalence rate of the disease are also at risk of being infected (Rather, Parray, Lone, et al., 2017). The common signs and symptom of Dengue fever include high fever, vomiting, headache, joint and muscle pains, and skin rash. It takes approximately two to seven days for an individual to recover. Evidence indicates that in minimal instances, the illness can develop into severe dengue, which is also referred to as the dengue hemorrhagic fever. In such cases, the disease can result in low blood platelets levels, bleeding, leakage of blood plasma, or what is known as dengue shock syndrome that occurs when the blood pressure is dangerously low.
Dengue virus is usually spread by the female species of mosquitoes of the Aedes type, which is scientifically known as A. aegyoti. There are four types of the virus and evidence indicates that when one is infected by a single type of the virus, he usually acquires a lifelong immunity to that type and a short-term immunity to the rest of the viruses. Nevertheless, scholars argue that consequent infection by different forms of viruses tends to raise the dangers of suffering from severe complications (Rather, Parray, Lone, et al., 2017). This is because the short-term immunity may increase the risk of the disease staying for long before the symptoms can be noticed and treated. There are various tests that can be used to diagnose the viruses, and this includes the detection of antibodies to the virus as well as its RNA.
History & Evolution of the Disease
The origin of the Dengue disease is not clearly understood, but scholars argue that the disease dates back more than 1,000 years. According to numerous scholars, the first case of the disease to be recorded was in a Chinese medical encyclopedia and it dates back to the Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD). During this period, the disease was known as “water poison” since it was related to flying insects (de Araújo, Bello, Romero & Nogueira, 2014). Furthermore, the first time that an epidemic of the dengue disease was recognized took place almost concurrently in Africa, Asia, and North America in the 1780s. The epidemic occurred shortly after the disease had been identified and named in 1779. Moreover, the first case report to be confirmed occurred in 1789, and this was done by Benjamin Rush. Benjamin coined the phrase "breakbone fever" since it had symptoms that were similar to myalgia and arthralgia.
Studies have shown that Dengue fever has evolved over the years as people become more adapted to the disease. The transmission and viral etiology by mosquitoes have only been deciphered in the 20th century (Rather, Parray, Lone, et al., 2017). During World War II, the socioeconomic impact led to wide spread of dengue fever across the world. Currently, approximately 2.5 billion individuals, which is close to 40% of the total population across the globe, live in regions where there are increased risks of being infected by the dengue virus. Evidence indicates that the dengue virus has spread to over 100 nations in the Pacific, Asia, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa.
Prevalence, Incidence, Mortality, Morbidity rates of Disease
The dengue fever is increasingly prevalent in tropical nations as a result of rapid population growth, climate, increased trade and travel, and unplanned rapid urbanization. According to Jiménez-Silva et al., (2018), the burden of this illness is high across the globe, with 58.4 million cases reported in 2013, and 1.14 million disability-adjusted life years. Scholars argue that a higher risk of acquiring the severe type of dengue virus is associated with co-circulation of numerous serotypes since they are dependent on antibodies and they enhance infection of certain strains. Thus, it is essential to document the prevalence of serotype as well as the dynamics of genetic variants that assist in predicting the epidemic impact, management of the epidemic, and preparedness to deal with the disease.
Various countries in the tropical regions have reported numerous cases of the dengue virus. For instance, Colombia is a South American nation that has high incidences of dengue virus. For example, between 1980 and 2007, close to 752,429 cases of the disease were reported, with country-wide epidemics occurring in 2001/2002, 2010, 2013/2014 (Jiménez-Silva et al., 2018). The epidemics had an average of over 100,000 and 200,00 people suffering from the ailment. In Brazil, millions of people have been infected by the dengue fever since 1986, and the first case of autochthonous of DENV-3 (genotype III) being reported in 2000.
Dengue fever is endemic in more than 100 countries, with statistics indicating that over 50 million cases have been recorded every year. The nations where the disease is increasingly prevalent include those in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. The mortality rate in this region was 20.89% from 2003 to 2009 (Lora, Fernandez, Morales, et al., 2014). Scholars argue that dengue virus causes huge societal, economic, and personal burden when it comes to issues associated with hospital admission, mortality, and morbidity. In Malaysia for instance, there was a dramatic increase (160%) in deaths in 2014, with the cases increasing from 98,128 illnesses and 189 death in 2014 in comparison to 37,608 ailments and 79 deaths in 2013 (Mallhi, Khan & Sarriff, et al., 2017). In 2015, scholars predicted that the deaths as a result of the dengue fever would reach 301
Prevention and Treatment
Historically, people have used traditional as well as scientific strategies to control and prevent dengue fever. According to scholars, traditional control approaches only offer temporary sustainability. However, various forms of biotechnological approaches have been implemented, and they include sterile insect technique, production of vectors that are genetically modified, and paratransgenesis (Rather, Parray, Lone, et al., 2017). Despite the fact that extensive control strategy of the vector tends to be limited, evidence indicates that innovative vaccine candidates have shown that preventative measures can be effective in the management of the disease. Apart from the management strategies that are used to control the disease, vaccines have been developed and they have proved to offer efficient preventative and control strategies. Vaccines and immunotherapies have been developed, and the control and prevention strategies can be divided into three groups, including physical control, biological control, and chemical control.
Laboratory strategies used to diagnose the dengue diseases can involve isolating the virus, nucleic acid and antigens. Both techniques can be used to establish the stage and progress of the disease in order to establish its severity. Dengue fever is usually confirmed after the viral genomic RNA, antibodies, or antigens that it elicits have been identified (Khetarpal & Khanna, 2016). Treatment is usually based on the symptoms that a person portrays. When it comes to treatment, there is no specific technique used to treat dengue infection since there are no vaccine and drugs that have been developed. Therefore, the only effective method is prevention. Scholars argue that there is no vaccine that can be used to prevent the four strains of dengue, but there is a tetravalent vaccine that is still under clinical trials. The vaccine is made up of a live attenuated and inactivated virus as well as recombinant protein envelop. The treatment technique recommended by physicians is paracetamol instead of aspirin. In certain circumstance, aspirin can cause enhanced internal bleeding. Furthermore, aspirin can be dangerous when taken by children aged 12 years and below. When a patient is diagnosed with severe cases of the disease, scholars argue that precautionary measures need to be taken, including large fluid intake as well as electrolyte therapy. Generally, treatment of dengue fever usually involves oral rehydration and paracetamol as an analgesic and antipyretic.
Treatment procedures are essential in enabling the severity of the disease to rescind. Evidence indicates that even when a person takes the medication, it is crucial to adhere to the management plans to ensure that the disease does not progress to severe stages (Khetarpal & Khanna, 2016). Dengue fever can be treated effectively when an individual follows all the treatment plans that have been set by the physician.
References
de Araújo, J. M. G., Bello, G., Romero, H., & Nogueira, R. M. R. (2014). Origin and Evolution of Dengue Virus Type 3 in Brazil. PLoS One.
Jiménez-Silva, C. L., Carreño, M. F., Ortiz-Baez, A., S., Rey, L., A., Villabona-Arenas, C. J., & Ocazionez, R. E. (2018). Evolutionary history and spatio-temporal dynamics of dengue virus serotypes in an endemic region of Colombia. PLoS ONE 13(8)
Khetarpal, N., & Khanna, I. (2016). Dengue Fever: Causes, Complications, and Vaccine Strategies. Journal of Immunology Research. 6803098.
Lora, A. J., Fernandez, J., Morales, A., Soto, Y., Feris-Iglesias, J., & Brito, M. O. (2014). Disease severity and mortality caused by dengue in a Dominican pediatric population. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 90(1), 169-72.
Mallhi, T. H., Khan, A. H., Sarriff, A., Adnan, A. S., & Khan, Y. H. (2017). Determinants of mortality and prolonged hospital stay among dengue patients attending tertiary care hospital: a cross-sectional retrospective analysis. BMJ open, 7(7), e016805.
Rather, I. A., Parray, H. A., Lone, J. B., Paek, W. K., Lim, J., Bajpai, V. K., & Park, Y. H. (2017). Prevention and Control Strategies to Counter Dengue Virus Infection. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology. 7, 336.
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