This year India has reported more than 1,16,229 dengue cases so far from different states and union territories. 9 states and union territories of Haryana, New Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been seeing a continuous rise in the number of dengue cases.
The issue with Dengue is that currently there is no specific medicine or vaccine available against it, which makes it even more important to be aware of the steps needed to prevent it.
Dengue, caused by Aedes mosquito, has four types – DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4 — and even if a person gets lifetime immunity from one particular serotype, there is always a strong possibility to get the disease again from other kinds of serotypes.
During their earlier stages, the dengue mosquito, Aedes Aegypti, breeds in fresh and clean water-contained environments close to the dwellings of humans, which have a clean urban atmosphere. This shows the difficulty of fighting these mosquito species.
Only female mosquitoes bite human beings because the blood is a necessity for them to mature eggs. These eggs have the capability to live for months and can be hatched until a five-time increase by the Aedes female mosquitoes.
The Aedes aegypti has the ability to make a huge flight, ranging as high as 400 meters. Besides this, they spend most of their lifetime roaming inside and in the surroundings of human dwellings, which makes it very easy for them to spread the dengue virus and cause an outburst of the disease.
Normal dengue fever starts with a rise in body temperature and an illness that lasts for a couple of days or even a week. The incubation period goes on from 4-10 days, post-bite from an infected mosquito, and body temperature rises up to 104 degree Fahrenheit.
Other symptoms are headache, vomiting, nausea, swollen glands, joint pains and rashes.
When the condition of the patient deteriorates too much and he/she develops acute dengue then symptoms like severe abdominal pain, bleeding from gums, vomiting blood, fast breathing, weakness, and constant vomiting.
1. Aedes aedypti breeds in stored waters like unchanged water inside flower vase, stagnant water in buckets, wet shower floors and toilet tanks. These situations favor the mosquitoes to lay eggs, therefore, always keep stagnant waters out of your house.
2. Wear full-sleeved robes during the day as well as evening because although aedes mosquitoes can spread the disease all year long, they mainly bite at dawn and dusk time.
3. Apply mosquito repellants on your robes, especially if they are made of thin fabrics because it’s easy for mosquitoes to bite through them.
4. Spray mosquito repellents in and around your house as well to stay extra protective. Spraying should be done esp in Bathrooms as body surface area exposed to mosquitoes is more during bathing.
5. Regular Fogging and insecticidal spraying in society premises. (Insecticidal spray is superior to fogging in controlling mosquitoes as it kills larvae too)
5. Consult your physician/doctor timely.
to keep in mind include (especially for children and elderly):
- Wear long-sleeved shirts;
- Wear socks;
- Wear long pants and consider tucking your pants into your socks;
- Wear light-colored clothing, since mosquitoes are more attracted to darker colors;
- Apply mosquito repellent to your clothing, shoes, and camping gear and bed netting;
.jpg)
