It all started with an annoying buzz
in the middle of the night.
You thought that
a bad night of sleep
was all you had to worry about.
Now you have a rash all over,
your nose is bleeding
and that intense headache
just won’t go away.
Turns out that this bloodsucker
kills more humans than any other animal.
This illness is caused by the dengue virus.
It’s transmitted to humans
through a bite from an infected mosquito.
The virus can be found
in over 100 countries,
including the regions of South East Asia,
the Western Pacific
and the Americas.
Every year, 100 to 400 million
dengue infections occur
and about half a million people
develop potentially life-threatening
hemorrhagic fever.
The primary culprit behind the spread
of the dengue virus
is the female Aedes aegypti mosquito.
It can live anywhere food is available,
and humans like you
are often the main dish.
Males can carry the virus,
but luckily for you they stick to plants
when it's time to eat.
Female mosquitoes
are particularly dangerous
when they start a feeding frenzy
before laying eggs.
They mostly feast at sunset and sunrise.
Don't make a home for them.
Get rid of any solid waste
and standing water
where mosquitoes could breed.
About 80% of dengue fever cases
are mild and asymptomatic,
but you need to stay vigilant.
There are three stages of the disease.
The febrile phase can last
up to seven days.
You’ll experience intense headaches,
pain across all of your body
and rashes.
The second is the critical phase
which lasts about 24 hours.
You might be fooled into thinking
you’re getting better
as your symptoms begin to subside,
but it's this stage where you’re at risk
of developing severe dengue.
Blood in your stool or vomit are indicators,
and you’ll need to get
medical care immediately.
Additional complications include
a build-up of fluid in the tissue
around your lungs
and extremely low protein levels
in your blood.
This can result in a dramatic drop
in blood pressure,
and you can go into shock or die.
The third stage of the disease,
the convalescent phase,
occurs when your blood pressure
With all the pain you’re going through
you might want to reach for
over-the-counter medications
such as ibuprofen or aspirin
to relieve your misery.
Avoid them both.
These are anti-inflammatories
and will thin your blood,
reducing your blood pressure further
and increasing the risk of hemorrhaging.
Instead, try something
like acetaminophen
to help with the pain and fever.
You had dengue fever and survived.
Now you need to be even more careful.
If you get re-infected, it could be severe.
Freelance writer Georgie Darling
contracted dengue fever
for the first time in 2020.
She recovered with no issues
after a week,
but the second time around
wasn’t as easy.
Writing for the Guardian,
she described the experience
as agonizing.
The severe pain had her in tears
for several days.
The ability to control
and prevent dengue fever
is a community effort.
Don’t expose yourself to mosquitoes
while you’re infected.
If a mosquito feeds on you,
the virus will enter its gut and replicate.
Then it’ll make its way through
the bug’s salivary glands,
ready to infect the next person
it takes blood from.
And it will continue to do so
until someone
finally swats it out of existence.
Talking about animal bites
that can result in severe illness,
that beloved cat of yours can infect you
with bacteria that can blind you
and mess with your brain.
But we can help you with that.