Dengue is a form of viral fever which has become endemic in India and causes outbreaks every so often. The infection draws out by flavivirus and is grow fast by mosquitoes. Transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with a virus, fever is a hallmark of the disease and hence called dengue fever. Symptoms occur 3-14 days after the bite from an infected mosquito. The disease does not move from person to person however through contact or through any other secretions.

Dengue Symptoms:

Symptoms comprise mild to high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. The symptoms of severe dengue (dengue hemorrhagic fever) include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, breathing difficulty, bleeding, rash, loss of consciousness, etc. Many people, particularly children and teens, however, may not experience any signs or symptoms at all or have a mild fever and headache. When symptoms occur, they begin 4 to 10 days after biting by a mosquito.

Diagnosis:

Usually diagnosed by blood tests for antibodies to the virus, the treatment for the problem focuses on alleviating the symptoms. The infection can affect platelet counts, so a serial blood count measurement may be used as an additional diagnostic criterion and to measure response to treatment.

Treatment:

Treatment options include taking sufficient rest, drinking plenty of fluids, and taking care to control the fever. In the case of severe infection and dengue hemorrhagic fever, fluids are given intravenously to increase and maintain blood pressure and prevent shock. Serial platelet transfusions require to arrest severe bleeding.

Most people recover within a few days to a week, but at times the disease can become life-threatening. One should seek immediate help if any of the symptoms observe from the above instructions. And follow up with the health care advice until symptoms are getting full recover. No vaccination has yet been discovered to prevent the infection, though efforts are on all over the world.

When a mosquito bites a person afflicted with the virus, the virus enters the mosquito, and when the infected mosquito then bites another person, the virus enters that person’s bloodstream. There are four serotypes of the virus. Infection with one of the serotypes protects from infection with that serotype for a long time. But only limited and temporary protection against infection with the other serotypes.

After you’ve recovered from dengue fever, you have immunity to the virus that affected you. But not to the other three dengue fever viruses. The risk of developing a severe fever, also known as hemorrhagic fever.