| Dengue Fever: A New Vacation Souvenir Courtesy of Global Warming |
| Thursday, 25 March 2010 | Dawn Marshallsay | Article |
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Outbreaks of dengue fever have become more prevalent over the past decade, especially in tropical areas of the Americas, Africa, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. Countries struggling with epidemics last year included Vietnam, Cape Verde, Malaysia and the Philippines, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are about 50 million global dengue fever infections each year, and that about two-fifths of the world’s population (2.5 billion people) are now at risk As heat and still water are the main requirements for mosquitoes to breed, global warming is aiding their reproduction by raising temperatures and causing drought. Unable to afford proper plumbing, water storage and irrigation, poor residents in tropical countries often resort to hoarding water in open containers, providing the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. The international trade of used tires, which also collect water, has been attributed to the rise in dengue in the US, several Latin American and Caribbean countries, and parts of Europe and Africa. Discarded packaging also collects water, so it is vital to recycle rubbish rather than litter the streets. Being bitten yourself poses a threat to other humans, as it can be spread through blood products (such as syringes) or to other mosquitoes, which may then pass it on to other humans. The contagion circulates in the infected person’s blood for two to seven days, the same length of the time as the fever, and if a mosquito bites that person during this time, it may spread the disease to another victim. Though usually mild, dengue fever (DF) can be severe and lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), which kills 2.5% of sufferers. As there is no vaccine to prevent dengue fever, sufferers can only be given treatments to reduce the fever. Dengue is caused by four similar viruses (DENV-1 to DENV-4), making it difficult for a vaccine to be produced. While suffering from one virus provides lifelong immunity to that particular type, you are only partially immune to the other three for nine months or less, and subsequent dengue infections increase the risk of developing DHF. As well as taking necessary precautions for our own health (and to reduce the risk of passing DF to others), we can help prevent the spread of dengue fever by improving water supplies in tropical countries, encouraging people to cover water containers, reducing our CO2 emissions to combat the rising temperatures that mosquitoes love, and addressing the global warming related drought that encourages people to hoard water. Dengue Fever Facts
Prevention:
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Been there, done that, got the T-shirt and the dengue fever… What will you bring home from vacation this summer? Now that global warming is increasing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, itching from bites is the least of your worries. While the world was panicking about swine flu, another flu-like disease—dengue fever—swept the globe. 
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