While dozens of cases are confirmed all over France due to the proliferation of the tiger mosquito, let’s take the time to understand what dengue fever is and how to protect yourself from it.
A Mosquito control operation was set up Tuesday around the Bergerac hospital, in the Dordogne, after the hospitalization of a patient with dengue fever. Shortly before, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Health Agency (ARS) said in a press release that 18 confirmed cases of dengue fever had been reported in the PACA region.
Health authorities are constantly alerting the general public to dengue fever epidemics, which, with the proliferation of the tiger mosquito in France, are claiming more and more victims. But what is dengue?
The “tropical flu”
Transmitted by the female tiger mosquito only, also a vector of chikungunya and Zika, dengue fever (also called “tropical flu”) is a tropical hemorrhagic fever. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number of annual cases worldwide at 50 million, including 500,000 cases of “haemorrhagic” dengue fever, ie fatal in more than 2.5% of cases.
Dengue is initially present in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, such as in Honduras where an epidemic has recently killed 44 people or in Reunion, where 273 cases were confirmed between June 10 and 16 alone, according to the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of the island.
Contamination, symptoms and transmission
Dengue fever symptoms appear 3 to 14 days (on average 4 to 7 days) after the infecting bite. Patients usually suffer from Sudden fever accompanied by one or more other symptoms: headaches, joint and/or muscle pain, feeling very tired or skin rashes. In 2 to 4% of cases, the disease can progress to a severe form (2 to 5 days after the onset of symptoms).
The patient can then develop haemorrhagic forms, hepatic (liver) damage, cardiovascular failures, forms of respiratory distress (shortness of breath), vomiting and/or refusal to eat in children. Depending on the patient’s condition, the course can be fatal. There is no specific treatment. While dengue hemorrhagic fever is a life-threatening complication, early clinical diagnosis and prompt clinical management can often save lives. Note that in rare cases, transmission from mother to child is possible.
Source: Indian Ocean ARS
As the Health Organization (WHO) points out, “more than 70% of the burden of disease attributable to this disease is found in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the “Incidence and severity of the disease have increased rapidly in recent years. Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean have also experienced more outbreaks in the past decade.”
How to protect yourself from dengue fever?
By protecting themselves as much as possible from mosquitoes, thanks in particular to sprays and repellent creams, mosquito nets, diffusers or even wearing loose and long clothes.
To limit the risks, the ARS Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur recalls that it is “by acting daily, at home, that we can prevent the tiger mosquito from reproducing and proliferating in our homes, on our balconies, in our gardens, etc”. For this, “we must destroy its eggs and remove the waters in which the female lays. She particularly likes small containers where water stagnates, such as under flower pots, puddles of water, children’s toys, outdoor containers or even small wet nooks.Sometimes a few centiliters can be enough for a female to lay her eggs there.
The ARS recommends replacing the water with sand, “covering or covering with a mosquito net the water reserves (barrel, canister, swimming pool cover)” and doing aPay attention to natural shelters such as “tree hollows, broken bamboos, each broken and hollow stem of which then becomes a receptacle”. Similarly, the Agency invites the French to be vigilant and to store anything that may contain water (buckets, watering cans) sheltered from the rain and to change the water in plants and flowers once a week, or more if possible.
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