Dengue fever has been around for 70 years in the U.S. It started to increase in the 1960s; 100 million people were infected yearly. Dengue fever occurs mostly in tropical areas of the world like Southeast Asia, Southern China, Taiwan, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, Mexico, Africa, Central and South America. Dengue fever became a big problem after World War 2. Since then the world has been working on eliminating the mosquitoes and to make a vaccine.
Dengue fever is caused by a bite of a mosquito; most common mosquito is the Aedes aegypti, which is located in the tropical regions. Aedes aegypit which is called the yellow fever mosquito in some parts of the world is a mosquito that can spread the dengue fever, and yellow fever, and other diseases. Many people, especially children and teens, may experience signs or symptoms during a dengue fever. Dengue fever begins with a high fever, often as high as 104 - 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Dengue fever lasts up to 4 to 7 days after the infection. The symptoms of Dengue fever include a red rash which will appear over most of the body 2 - 5 days after the fever starts. A second rash will occur later in the disease. Other symptoms include headaches, vomiting, muscle aches, bleeding from the nose or gums. Sometimes dengue fever can turn into something deadly. That’s called dengue hemorrhagic fever. This can cause bleeding, vomiting, belly pain, and even death. Dengue hemorrhagic fever first occurred in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand, but today it’s mostly in Asian and Latin American countries.
Scientists have discovered a powerful substance which is call antibodies can kill the dengue virus in two hours. This may lead to a cure for dengue fever infection. Currently, there are no vaccines on the market that can cure dengue fever. There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. You just have to drink a lot of fluids. The condition lasts a week or more. Dengue fever might be uncomfortable but it’s not deadly. To avoid getting dengue fever you have to avoid mosquitoes by wearing Clothing, having a mosquito repellent, and netting can help reduce exposure to