Republic of the Philippines, Department of Health
San Lazaro Compound, Sta. Cruz, Manila
(+632) 743-8301 to 23
The Department of Health (DOH) turned over dengue information resources to the education and local government departments and the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, to add more power to their capabilities in helping curtail the dengue problem in the country, as the DOH launched its 2008 National Anti-Dengue Campaign.
"The fight against dengue is not a DOH battle alone. We have allies in this war from the local front, most notable are the Departments of Education (DepEd) and Interior and Local Governments (DILG) and the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, and we have to reinforce the instruments to their fight by giving them more ammunition in the form of education materials,"
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.
WHAT IS DENGUE FEVER?
Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (a more severe form) are the most common mosquito-borne viral diseases in the world.
Dengue Fever is an illness caused by infection with a virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. This disease is also called break-bone fever because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain. There are four types of this virus (serotypes 1 to 4) which can infect you.
Dengue Fever is spread though the bite of the Aedes Mosquito.
THERE IS NO DRUG FOR DENGUE.
To prevent dengue fever, you must prevent the breeding of its carrier, the Aedes mosquitoes. Aedes mosquitoes are identified by the black and white stripes on their body. You can get rid of the Aedes mosquito by frequently checking and removing stagnant water in your home.
LIFECYCLE OF AEDES MOSQUITO
Under optimal conditions, the egg of an Aedes mosquito can hatch into a larva in less than a day. The larva then takes about four days to develop in a pupa, from which an adult mosquito will emerge after two days. Three days after the mosquito has bitten a person and taken in blood, it will lay eggs, and the cycle begins again.
FACTS ABOUT THE MOSQUITO
• Only the female aedes mosquito bites as it needs the protein in blood to develop its eggs.
• The mosquito becomes infective approximately 7 days after it has bitten a person carrying the virus. This is the extrinsic incubation period, during which time the virus replicates in the mosquito and reaches the salivary glands.
• Peak biting is at dawn and dusk.
• The average lifespan of an Aedes mosquito in Nature is 2 weeks
• The mosquito can lay eggs about 3 times in its lifetime, and about 100 eggs are produced each time.
• The eggs can lie dormant in dry conditions for up to about 9 months, after which they can hatch if exposed to favourable conditions, i.e. water and food
POTENTIAL BREEDING SITES
USUAL MOSQUITO BREEDING SITES
UNUSUAL MOSQUITO BREEDING SITES
INDICATION OF THE DISEASE
The presence of virus of this disease
in the body can only be ascertained through blood test in the laboratory. The test can show whether the blood sample contains dengue virus or antibodies to the virus.
INDICATIONS
Symptoms of typical uncomplicated dengue usually start with fever within 5 to 6 days after a person has been bitten by an infected mosquito.
The specific indications of this disease include:
• High fever, up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit
(about 40.6 degrees Celsius)
• Severe joint and muscle pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Pain in back, body and joints
• Presence of spots on the body
• Pain in eyeballs
• Shortage of white cells in the blood
• Severe headache, cold und flu
• Rash may appear over most of the body 3 to 4 days after the fever begins. A second rash may appear later in the disease.
• In case of serious illness, blood may be emitted from different parts of the body like mouth and the nose
TREATMENT
There is no specific treatment for dengue fever, and most people recover completely within 2 weeks. It is advisable to take plenty of bed rest, drink lots of fluids, take medicines to reduce fever.
Sometimes dengue also causes dengue hemorrhagic fever, a very serious illness, which can lead to shock (very low blood pressure) and is sometimes fatal, especially in children and young adults.
This disease neither has a specific cure nor a vaccine available. Therefore, as soon as there are any such indications, give the patient as much liquids as possible and contact the nearest health centre.
DENGUE PREVENTION CHECKLIST
To prevent the spread of dengue fever, you must first prevent the breeding of its vector, the Aedes mosquitoes. The Aedes mosquito is easily identifiable by its distinctive black and white stripes on their body. It prefers to breed in clean, stagnant water easily found in our homes. You can get rid of the Aedes mosquito by frequently checking and removing stagnant water in your premises.
The guidelines below will give you an overview of how you can prevent the Aedes mosquito from breeding.
• Keep your homes and offices protected against mosquitoes.
• Keep homes and offices airy, bright and safe from moisture.
• Fix nets on doors and windows.
• Wear full sleeves clothes.
• Use mosquito nets while sleeping.
• Don't leave the overhead tanks open.
• Don't keep water in containers for more than a week. Instead, empty them every week, let them dry and then fill again.
• Don't let the water falling from the overhead tanks to accumulate permanently. Instead dry it.
• Don't let the water accumulate in any case both inside or outside the home.
• Be mindful of your home's cleanliness.
• Keep the fence and hedge boundaries duly cut both inside and outside the home, and spray over them with insecticides, particularly in the evening.
• Don't let the water stay all the time in the flower pots, gamias of plants. Instead water them only in the morning every alternate day.
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