Dengue Fever Health Risk in EAsia.
Climage Change & Gobal Warming to blame - World Heath Organization
The recent outbreaks of bird flu took the spotlight away from Dengue Fever related diseases and deaths. This is now an epidemic in S.E. Asia and no vaccine is available,
Southeast Asia is home to all four strains of the dengue virus that is transmitted by the bite of a carrier mosquito. There is no vaccine yet available against Dengue Fever as being inoculated from one strain will not protect a patient from falling ill if bitten by a mosquito carrying another strain. The only way to avoid it is to cover up and wear a strong mosquito repellent.
The virus causes pain in the joints, high fever, rash and nausea, and requires hospital care, including regular testing of the patient’s blood. In severe cases, the patient suffers from internal bleeding, called dengue hemorrhagic fever which can lead to death.
Dengue Fever is not as deadly as Malaria but it nevertheless carries a risk of death to the very young and the very old. This year, 2007, is predicted to be the worst year for dengue, made worse by the fact that finding a robust vaccine is proving to be challenging. The disease is carried by four viruses and the thinking now is that the only way to avoid Dengue is to eliminate breeding spots for the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The dramatic increase in the number of cases and the momentum with which they are growing in S.E. Asia has been credited to many causes, among them climate change, urbanization, travel and migration.
Climate change is considered the worst culprit. As global warming blankets the earth, mosquitoes are extending their previous territory beyond north and south of the Equator, and they are becoming more and more active. Experts in infectious diseases discuss a scenario where even affluent and modern countries will struggle to exercise control.
Even squeaky-clean Singapore was powerless to stop the spread of the disease this year, and over two weeks in June there were 782 cases reported. The rest of S.E. Asia is far from immune and the disease is now endemic from Burma to Brunei, with Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia being badly affected.
Travellers must be aware of the fact that in some less developed countries it is almost impossible to guarantee good health care and each and every one of us must have an effective health surveillance system. In Vietnam, citizens in the central and southern provinces have been urged to search out and destroy the mosquito breeding grounds.
The figures for the various countries in East Asia are as follows:
Cambodia suffered 132 deaths from the virus in June and there were 10,000 dengue cases reported.
Vietnam, recorded 17 deaths and 24,255 cases during the first six months..
Thailand recorded 17 deaths and 20,000 cases (an increase of 35% on last year).
Burma had 30 dengue-related deaths during the first 6 months of the year but nearly 3,000 have fallen ill from the virus.
Malaysia, has had 56 dengue-related deaths and 25,858 dengue cases in the first six months of this year, a sharp increase from the 16,808 cases during the same period last year.
More disturbing still, Indonesia had 68,000 reported cases and 748 deaths so far during 2007.
Singapore, the region’s smallest country, reported only 2 dengue-related deaths.
The World Health Organization ticks the Climate Change box when it comes to apportioning blame for this virus, the dangers of which were sidelined due to scares about Bird Flu, but its spread is now occasioning much worry.
Be extra diligent when it warm climates. The dengue mosquito bites during the day as well as night, unlike the malaria mosquito which normally operates dusk till dawn, so be sure to cover up AND wear a good anti-repellent.
