Dengue fever: symptoms and causes – Times of India

Dengue fever (pronounced by DENgee) is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the bite of the Aedes female mosquito. Dengue fever causes high fever, muscle pain, joint pain and rash. The severe form of dengue fever, also known as hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome, can cause severe symptoms such as internal bleeding, sudden drop in blood pressure, shock, and even death in rare cases.

Dengue is the most prevalent disease in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific Islands.

sYMPTOMS
Many people, especially adolescents and children, may have no symptoms or signs during a mild case of dengue fever. Symptoms begin to appear four to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.

Symptoms of mild dengue include at least two of the following symptoms:
– Constant headache

– Nausea and vomiting

– Muscle and joint pains

– Pain behind the eyes

– Swollen glands

– rashes

– Fever above 104 degrees F

Most people with dengue fever recover within a week. In rare cases, the symptoms worsen and make the situation potentially life threatening. The blood vessels are damaged and leak, causing bleeding through the nose, stool and urine. The severe form of dengue fever is called haemorrhagic fever, severe dengue fever and dengue shock syndrome.

The symptoms of dengue shock syndrome are as follows:
– Intense pain in the abdomen

– nose and gum bleeding

– Blood in the stool, urine and vomit

– persistent vomiting

– Difficulty breathing

– cold and moist skin

– Bleeding under the skin that may look like bruises

– fatigue and dizziness

– Agitation

– Irritability

Dengue causes
Dengue fever is caused by the bite of a female Aedes mosquito. There are four types of dengue virus. When a mosquito bites a person infected with dengue fever, the virus enters the mosquito. This mosquito infects the other person when he stings it. Once you have recovered from dengue, you develop immunity against the virus that caused it.

If you are infected with dengue more than twice, your risk of developing dengue haemorrhagic fever increases.

Dengue fever is known by two other names – dandy fever and dorsal fever. Much research has been done and is underway to develop a dengue vaccine.