Dengue hemorrhagic epidemic declared in Thailand

By News Desk @ bactiman63

The Thai Department of Disease Control (DDC) officially declared an outbreak of dengue haemorrhagic fever this year, with 28,785 patients, 43 of whom died, according to a Bangkok Post report released on Friday.

The deputy director-general of the department said that the numbers ranged from January 1 to June 11, when the number of patients had doubled the five-year average.

Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Four closely related but antigenically different virus serotypes can cause dengue fever (DEN1, DEN 2, DEN 3, DEN 4).

Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube

• Dengue fever (DF) – characterized by the sudden onset of high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes and pain in the muscles and joints. Some may also have a rash and varying degrees of bleeding in various parts of the body (including nose, mouth and gums or bruising). Dengue fever has a broad spectrum of infection (asymptomatic to symptomatic). Symptomatic illness may range from dengue fever to more severe hemorrhagic fever.
• Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) – is a more serious form, observed only in a small proportion of infected persons. DH is a stereotypical disease characterized by 3 phases; febrile phase with high fever continues usually less than 7 days; critical phase (plasma leakage) lasting 1 to 2 days, usually apparent when the fever drops, causing shock if not detected and treated promptly; convalescence phase lasting 2 to 5 days with improvement of appetite, bradycardia (fast heart rate), convalescent rash (white plaques on a red background), often accompanied by generalized itching (more intense in the palms and soles of the feet) and diuresis (increase in urinary output).
• Dengue shock syndrome (DSS) – Shock syndrome is a dangerous complication of dengue fever and is badociated with high mortality. Severe dengue occurs as a result of secondary infection with a different serotype virus. Increased vascular permeability, badociated with myocardial dysfunction and dehydration, contributes to the occurrence of shock resulting in multiorgan failure.

Situation of influenza and chikungunya in Thailand

Singapore: chikungunya under contract with a student in Thailand

Thailand: Syphilis among young people is increasing at an "alarming rate" and deaths from dengue