This year, over 1,000 dengue cases have been registered in the city by BBMP; severe infections can turn fatal
BENGALURU: With monsoon around the corner, unhygienic water clogging and a plethora of diseases come along too. Most infections are a result of unhealthy, unclean surroundings, mosquitoes and weather fluctuations. One of the major infections doing the rounds this season is the dengue fever.
Around 400 million instances of dengue infections occur each year across the globe. This year, over 1,000 dengue cases have been registered by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with a dengue virus, dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease. Having bitten a person with dengue in their blood, the mosquito becomes infected. When the same mosquito bites an uninfected person, the virus gets into the person’s bloodstream and results in fever.
Occurring usually in tropical and subtropical areas, dengue resolves within days to weeks. However, dengue does not spread directly from one person to another. Symptoms in dengue fever generally show three to 14 days after the infection. If the infected person has a mild dengue fever, he/she is likely to experience a high fever, rash, and muscle pain as well as joint pain. However, in its severe form, dengue fever (also termed dengue hemorrhagic fever) causes severe bleeding, damage to lymph and blood vessels, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and can even be fatal. Sometimes, people become infected with the virus a second time and are at a much greater risk of developing the severe form of the disease.
Treatment for dengue fever consists of fluids and paracetamol. However, severe cases also need hospital care. It is best to consult your doctor.
