Monsoon Alert: Things You Must Be Aware Of Dengue Fever

Monsoon seasons brings fresh air and is welcomed by every individual. But every coin has two sides. Likewise, this monsoon season also brings infectious diseases known as Dengue, Malaria and so on. There is need to adopt precautionary measures against such diseases. 

What is Dengue and Severe Dengue?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is a mosquito-bite viral infection that is mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical climatic conditions worldwide.  

It mostly covers urban and semi-urban areas. The virus which is responsible for Dengue Fever is Dengue Virus (DENV). There are mostly four DENV stereotypes which means that it is responsible for infecting four times. 

Dengue Fever can cause inflammation of about 104F (40C).  

Symptoms 

It is not easy to diagnose Dengue Fever. But some of its common symptoms by which any individual can recognize dengue are described as under: 

- Rashes on body 

- Gagging in head 

- Pain behind the eyes 

- Swelling in glands 

These are some of the common symptoms. The other symptoms of severe Dengue Fever in which you have to immediately consult a doctor are as follows: 

- Belly pain or tenderness in body. 

- Discharge of stomach things out of your mouth at least 3 times in 24 hours. 

- Bleeding from nose. 

- Restlessness in body. 

Treatment 

In Dengue Fever, there is simple treatment but in case you are identified with its severe symptoms, then you must not forget to consult a health practitioner as soon as possible. The common conduct towards dengue fever are as follows: 

- One should take rest as much as possible. 

- Consume paracetamol to control fever. 

- Do not forget to take plenty of fluids so as to keep your body hydrated. 

- Wear long sleeves shirts, pants so as to cover your entire body. 

- Keep mosquitoes out of house by using mosquito repellents. 

Co-infection: Dengue Fever and COVID-19

The guidelines issued in the document of the World Health Organization for clinical treatment of Coronavirus said that the areas which other infections such as Dengue fever should be tested as per the norms and protocols set by the Ministry. This excludes the symptoms of respiratory disease as COVID-19 coexist in it. 

It is reported that there is a death record available in Health Department due to the emergence of co-infection of COVID-19 and Dengue from the States of Assam, Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi. 

Challenges of co-infection

It is a challenging task for health officials, patients and families as well. It is not easy to differentiate between signs and symptoms of their overlapping nature. The challenges are as further: 

- Both of them generally require in-hospital monitoring for management.  

- There is a requirement of high suspicion to identify Dengue and COVID-19 co-infection. 

- The cases of COVID-19 and Dengue are generally asymptomatic in nature. 

- Almost every hospital is busy with COVID-19 treatment. So, there are fewer chances of this co-infection treatment. 

- There is a false positivity among co-infection that creates a diagnostic challenge. 

- The therapy of IV fluid is challenging in itself as the development of ARDS/pulmonary edema. 

Disha Jain

BW Reporters The author is working as an intern with BW Businessworld