Introduction
Dengue is a disease that can potentially be lethal, if it develops to a stage called severe dengue. Dengue is a transmitted disease, which is passed to humans by mosquito bites. According to the Arabic Health Encyclopedia, ‘about 50 million cases of dengue infection happen and causes 22,000 deaths per year, mostly in children, worldwide, per year’. The rapid spread of dengue in tropical and subtropical areas is extremely dangerous, and there are some measures being taken by nations to prevent it.
Key Terms Defined
Dengue- is defined by the Oxford Dictionary to be “a debilitating viral disease of the tropics, transmitted by mosquitoes, and causing sudden fever and acute pains in the joints”. Those most likely to have dengue are young children, the elderly
…show more content…
Timeline
1779- First cases of dengue fever documented in Egypt and Indonesia.
1818- First reported dengue epidemic with 50,000 cases registered.
1872- Dengue becomes a global issue after pandemics in Caribbean-Atlantic region, Virgin Islands, Cuba, Jamaica, US port cities and Mexico. Since then, numerous small outbreaks have been reported.
1884- Dr. Albert Sabin identified the different dengue viruses
1950s-1960s- Dengue outbreaks were rare through the Americas as A. ageypti mosquitoes (the vector of dengue) were eradicated from the region.
1990- The A. ageypti mosquitoes were reintroduced into the Americas as a result of the popularization of air travel
1990’s- DHF, a more life threatening version of dengue was born
UN Involvement
Although the UN has done nothing specifically to eradicate dengue, as of yet, the World Health Association has adopted resolution WHA66.12 to all neglected tropical diseases (including dengue). The resolution urges states to:
“ensure country ownership of prevention, control, elimination and eradication
About 1,500 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States annually, mostly in returned travelers” (Global Health - Division of Parasitic Diseases , 2010). Malaria risk is not distributed homogeneously throughout all countries. Some destinations have malaria transmission occurring throughout the whole country, while in others it occurs in defined pockets so the traveler should be weary of areas whose climate is conducive to mosquitoes.
The number of companies dwindled down to a few causing there to be a need to increase production. This essentially became the race between the mosquitos and vaccines. Ultimately, the mosquitos lost the race however, according to Dr. Sylvie Briand of the W.H.O “it was a logistical challenge.” If the epidemic had moved to China, a huge crisis would have occurred and there truly would have been a shortage of vaccine supplies even if all the vaccine factories made vaccines and diluted them by ten times.
Ex: Many people in Texas had malaria as well as Dengue Fever due to their large mosquito population.
No one would have ever thought that a little bitty bug, with a painless bite could cause so much harm. This deadly virus was going around for awhile until it suddenly disappeared for about 20 years, causing everyone to make false assumptions that it was gone forever. Mosquitoes, the pesky bugs, will sooner, rather then later, become a threat once again.
Since there isn't a real cure for the disease except for hope, vaccination becomes even more important to the people because it is the only prevention for the disease. Mosquito repellents, full covering clothing and
224 years ago, in 1793, a yellow fever epidemic roared over Philadelphia. This was a devastating time for all Philadelphians. Although there were no cures, there were treatments. There were two types of doctors back in this time; the French doctors and the American. Mosquitos are the cause of this. They (the mosquitos) got infected by the refuges. The mosquitos spread the yellow fever to mankind. This epidemic killed a couple thousand people.
That is the troubling account of Dr. Lyle Peterson, specialist in the field of infectious disease control on the condition of West Nile Virus entering the United States. Though West Nile has affected many different regions, Africa has had the worst death rates. Conditions and diagnostics reveal that the disease is real and has some very dangerous effects. There are many actions being put forth to stop the rapid spread, but there are also some factors preventing countries from issuing control techniques such as costs and environmental considerations. The origin and history of West Nile need to be analyzed to predict where it will be in the future and know how it became as large as it is now. Additionally, the main problem lies in the fact that there are so many prime areas for the main carrier, the mosquito, to thrive in. Indeed, this all leads to the rampant condition of West Nile Virus the world faces today, the worst that it has ever been.
Working as a medical officer, I came across scores of patients with mosquito-borne diseases. Despite my state having a near cent percent literacy, my hospital wards were flooded by patient with dengue, malaria, and chikungunya. I studied about these notorious ear buzzing mosquitoes in my medical school, but never did I know how villain they were. After moving to Singapore, I understood how these diseases are a major problem even in developed countries. I can never forget those patients with chikungunya who had
Beyond being annoying and leaving us with incessantly itchy bite marks, mosquitos come with more serious risks. Infected mosquitos carrying the West Nile virus can pass … Human cases of West Nile virus have been recorded since 2002. Last year alone, there were 104 cases, up from 80 cases in 2015 and 21 cases in 2014. Symptoms of West Nile virus can include fever, headaches, body aches, mild rash or swollen lymph glands but serious cases can lead to loss
The World Health Organization (WHO) says as many as 4 million people could be infected in the next year in America. Subsequently, “On January 27th, Brazilian health officials reported a total of 4,180 cases since October 2015, and 287 more cases more cases a week earlier.” (Rosen 16). Health officials take a lot of time investigating many cases that have appeared in more than 20 countries, including the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The amount is rising more and more. In addition, the only places that were recorded to not receive the mosquito-borne virus were Canada and Chile, because of their lack of a large mosquito population. However, what does that mean for the
As a result of the mosquitoes physically being able to occupy a different vector, certain diseases also begin to expand to occupy that vector as well. As stated by an article about the population dynamics of mosquitoes, “global changes . . . lead to an extension of the distribution areas of certain mosquito species and the emergence of associated vector-borne diseases” (Ezanno et al.). As mosquitoes shift the vector of where they live as a result of this global warming, they bring what they have with them. In this case, this means that the mosquitoes bring these diseases with them throughout this new vector. Not only do mosquitoes bring these diseases with them to these new places, depending on the climate in this new area, certain diseases
Chikungunya is virus infection which is transmitted mainly by mosquitoes. This occurs when a mosquito feeds on an infected mosquito and becomes infected itself with the virus. From there on the people that the mosquito bites also become infected. In very rare occasions it has also been known for a mother to transfer the virus to her newborn around the time of birth but there have not been any cases where the virus has been transferred to a baby through breastfeeding. Hypothetically the virus could also be transferred through blood transfusion but there have been no known cases so far. (1)
The country is malaria-free and only a few cases of dengue fever borne by mosquitoes are recorded every year within the local population
Mosquito-borne illnesses (MBI), transmitted through mosquito bites, are a major public health issue in Nicaragua and the Western Hemisphere. In January 2016, the World Health Department (WHO) reported
This journal talks about the different up-rise of the West Nile Virus during different years. The first introduction of the WNV into the U.S. was in 1999 following a surprise resurgence endemic in 2012. The number of human infections rose dramatically and peaking in 2002-2003. The WNV then declined from 2008-2011, but it is still nuclease if the virus would continue to have a low-level of endemic transmission patter with occasional outbreaks such as other viruses. This journal compares the WNV to other different virus outbreaks such as the