In his interview with Sky News Arabia, an internal illnesses and fevers consultant gives advice and recommendations to protect oneself from this infiltrated disease, especially with the increased risks of its spread amid global warming due to climate change.
Peru, South America, declared a state of emergency at the weekend after the death toll topped 200 as hospitals struggled to accommodate the injured and set up field hospitals in tents at sports stadiums .
According to government data, the disease has infected 130,000 people so far this year, surpassing the record set in 2017 of 70,000.
Where does dengue come from?
A consultant for internal diseases and diets, Maher Al-Jarhi, presents the path of this disease from its source until it reaches the human blood:
It is a disease caused by a virus which is transmitted by the female mosquito with its proboscis (mouth) to the human being by bite. A person can transmit the infection to the mosquito himself, if the mosquito feeds on the blood of a person who is already infected with the virus, then the mosquito in turn transmits it to more people. Its sources are found in stagnant waters and swamps around which mosquitoes breed. Temperatures increase the chances of its presence and spread. Therefore, it was initially endemic to hot, tropical countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. The virus causes high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in severe cases, bleeding that can lead to death.
According to the website of the World Health Organization and its officials regarding the spread of the disease:
Climate change, which has increased global temperature, has increased the chances and speed of the virus spreading and transmitting to countries that were not used to its presence, such as France and Croatia in Europe. The disease affects 100 to 400 million people every year and threatens half of the Earth’s population. It is not transmitted from human to human except in rare cases from mother to fetus or by blood transfusion and organ donation.
How does a person find out about their infection?
Garhi replies:
The diagnosis of dengue is made by the appearance of several symptoms, especially if the person lives in an area where the disease is common. The symptoms are: a sharp rise in temperature up to 40 degrees Celsius, a skin rash, with severe pain in the bones, muscles, eyes and abdomen, accompanied by vomiting, and sometimes bleeding leading to a drop in blood flow.
Medicine without vaccine
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for dengue fever, but it can be treated by taking painkillers and antipyretics, and taking solutions, according to data from Al-Jarhi and the World Health Organization. health.
If the virus is in its infancy, recovery may occur in 4-7 days, and in other cases it may take 10 days.
“Keep away from mosquitoes”
The internal medicine and dietary consultant recommends that susceptible people take precautions to protect their bodies from exposure to mosquitoes.
Among these precautions, as Al-Jarhi says: “Stay away from places where stagnant and impure water gathers mosquitoes, and if you must be there, wear clothes that cover the whole body to protect it from mosquito bites. , in addition to applying creams that cover it with a protective layer.”
Despite the spread of this disease, many people do not pay attention to it because the first vector of it are the mosquitoes which abound among them, especially in agricultural areas and around canals and ponds.
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