Dengue?

Me_again

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Nov 21, 2004
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Can't think where this would be best placed. How seriously are those of you who live in the DR taking the current "outbreak" of Dengue fever?
 

canadian bob

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Jan 16, 2002
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Dengue fever must be taken seriously especially as it appears to be more aggressive. Precautions to obviate the mosquito connection should be instructed at an early school level and in news media. It would be unfortunate if positive action is not taken. Canadian Bob.
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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DR1 News said:
Struggling against dengue, 26 dead
An additional RD$22 million were allocated to the Ministry of Public Health to be used to control dengue, which as of Tuesday this week had killed 26 people, according to official data published by Diario Libre. Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez informed that the virus causing the illness is more lethal than in previous years, which is why there have been more deaths compared to 2005, when 18 died of the mosquito-borne disease
.
Extrapolating the fact that Dengue fever has an approximately 1-2% mortality rate, that puts the number of cases well over one thousand.
 

juanita

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Apr 22, 2004
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http://www.elnacional.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=62260

According to this newspaper, the health authorities have asked the collaboration of the Center for Infectious Diseases of the United States to determine if the virus of dengue has undergone mutation, generating more violent types of the disease.

Now, to take it seriously or not depends on each individual, I for myself take it as a ?prevention notice? and cleared the yard of any stagnant water. We see cases of dengue each year so I don?t feel alarmed just yet.
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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"Scary?" Is that a facetious answer or for real?
(BTW your URL could not be found)
The URL worked for me. It could be that the site was busy. The article was similar to a story that appeared in Tuesdays DR1 news (see below). The article also said they had begun fumigating in Santo Domingo last Thursday.

24 deaths attributed to dengue
Public Health officials have registered 2,265 cases of dengue throughout the country so far this year, and the Ministry is on the alert. According to the Epidemiology Directorate, 24 people have already died of the disease in 2006, six more than the total for 2005. Clave Digital reports that the information was disclosed by Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez following a meeting with several mayors from the National District and Santo Domingo Province, with whom he agreed to carry out joint actions to control the propagation of the dengue-transmitting mosquito. Ninety-eight of the 2,265 cases have been hemorrhagic dengue. The deaths have been attributed to persons not recognizing the disease, and instead treating it as a normal cold.
 

Stodgord

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Nov 19, 2004
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I think that many Dominicans don't know the following facts:

1. Their barrel of soft rain water or standing water is the ideal haven for mosquitoes to reproduce.
2. That gusarapos (larvae) are baby mosquitoes.
3. That Cintronella or lemon grass repells mosquitoes.
 

juanita

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Apr 22, 2004
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3. That Cintronella or lemon grass repells mosquitoes.


That's right! I'm using drops of citronella oil in my house and mosquitoes have vanished! :bunny:

Even put it in my body lotion....mmm...love that smell!
 
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MommC

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Mar 2, 2002
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I'm bringing lots of repellent with me this year.....having had the severe form of dengue several years ago (and almost dying with a one year recovery period) I can only get the hemorrhagic variety so I'm not taking any chances!!

It's only not serious if you've never had it or don't know anyone who has. Once you've seen or experienced what it can do you tend to be more aware of it.
Needless to say I'm much more aware of mosquito breeding places and make sure our condo area is as unconductive to breeding sites as possible (carries over to our home in Canada also so less worry about West Nile when here for the summer!:) )
 

Me_again

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Nov 21, 2004
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Hmmm!? Oh yes -- thanks. Perhaps a little more mosquito precaution on the next trip than in the past and: "Thou shalt not overlook flu-like symptoms!"
 

Beads

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May 21, 2006
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I'm bringing lots of repellent with me this year.....having had the severe form of dengue several years ago (and almost dying with a one year recovery period) I can only get the hemorrhagic variety so I'm not taking any chances!!

It's only not serious if you've never had it or don't know anyone who has. Once you've seen or experienced what it can do you tend to be more aware of it.
Needless to say I'm much more aware of mosquito breeding places and make sure our condo area is as unconductive to breeding sites as possible (carries over to our home in Canada also so less worry about West Nile when here for the summer!:) )


I dont think ive ever had it. would you know for sure if you ever had a mild case even?
 

MommC

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Mar 2, 2002
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You may not know you've had it if you've had only the 'mild' variety.
What most ppl don't realize is that there are 4 distinct strains of dengue- mild, moderate, severe and hemmorhagic. Once you've had one you can not get a less severe strain - only a more severe type as antibodies are produced by the body which makes you immune to the strain you had and lesser strains.
Therefore, having had the severe strain I can only get the hemmorhagic strain, hence the need to take precautions anytime I'm in dengue territory (which means the southern US states as well!)
You might want to check out the CDC site for further info on dengue. A google search will pull up the URL for you.
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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You may not know you've had it if you've had only the 'mild' variety.
What most ppl don't realize is that there are 4 distinct strains of dengue- mild, moderate, severe and hemmorhagic. Once you've had one you can not get a less severe strain - only a more severe type as antibodies are produced by the body which makes you immune to the strain you had and lesser strains.
Therefore, having had the severe strain I can only get the hemmorhagic strain, hence the need to take precautions anytime I'm in dengue territory (which means the southern US states as well!)
You might want to check out the CDC site for further info on dengue. A google search will pull up the URL for you.
Yes, there are 4 distinct virus strains, but each can cause a different variant of the disease. If you read the CDC report, you will see that multiple vrus variants have caused the hemmorhagic type. Also, immunity to one varient, does not give immunity to the others. If you were infected with DEN1, you still can contract one of the other three strains, each of which can present fom mild to hemmorhagic. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/
CDC said:
Infection with one of these serotypes provides immunity to only that serotype for life, so persons living in a dengue-endemic area can have more than one dengue infection during their lifetime

It is not DEN-1 giving mild, DEN-2, moderate, etc. All varients can gve all severities of the disease.
 

danely

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Apr 23, 2004
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I have personally had dengue fever 3 times, 2 of them verified by blood tests, first time was hemorrhagic- (ten days in bed, 105 degree temperture for 3-4 days, bleeding gums, brain swelling, 15 pounds lost, 5 months recuperation). Second time was was 2-3 days like a flu. 3rd time was like a horribly bad 4-5 day flu type thing, with brain swelling. The onset of incapacitation can take only about 2 hours to occur.

There are four recognized strains of the virus, any of which can develop into any severity of illness, from a slight headache to hemorrhagic fever leading to death, and yes, in 1-2% of cases. If you get hemorrhagic dengue fever you will do some bargaining with whatever God you can conceive of to end the suffering. It is that bad.

It is very possible to have a mild case and not recognize it as dengue. It is possible to get all 4 strains in your lifetime....but it is believed that some immunity is developed each time you get a strain of it. There is still much being researched about this disease, and there are some differing research results and opinioins.

Don't get mosquito bites and you won't get it. You are less likely to get it where there is a sea breeze....'squeeters don't like that. You are more likely to get it where there are a lot of other people and no breezes, ....such as in cities, especially in the early mornings and the evenings. Mosquito nets at night are a must under these conditions during the dengue season. Citronella candles are fairly effective too but not good to use in closed rooms.

The most important thing to know is that nearly all cases of dengue in the Caribbean occur between now and December...outside of that time frame it rarely occurs.

If you get dengue you MUST NOT take aspirin for the pain...it will thin the blood promoting hemorrhagic fever (serious internal bleeding). There is no cure. The only treatment is hydration, which is of very limited benefit.

Do take it seriously.....studying the CDC site is a great idea....and hope you never get it.
 

danely

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Apr 23, 2004
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The only "vector" for the disease is the aedis aegypti (spelling ?) mosquito, no others, to my knowledge. It is larger than most, and has visible white spots on its hind legs. They are very aggressive little critters, and they are persistent....they will keep trying no matter how much shooing away you try to do. They are the ones that have a fairly loud buzzing sound when hovering around your ears.

I contracted the disease on your neighbor island, Puerto Rico.
 

nikke

Member
Sep 19, 2005
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Is there a vaccination for dengue fever? I'm planning on being in the DR in October.