Doubts about the new case found in Italy of virus denguein particular found at Arezzo where the woman who tested positive was hospitalized. As communicated by the ASL, the woman coming from South America and Italy for tourism reasons was discharged yesterday from the San Donato hospital in Arezzo in good health. Since it is not a well-known virus in our country, it is useful to know what it is, how the infection occurs and what the symptoms are.
Dengue virus, the case in Italy and the risks
A 38-year-old South American tourist was hospitalized in San Donato di Arezzo in the infectious disease department, after a visit to the emergency room. The first symptom accused was the feverwhich the woman noticed while she was in Rome, followed by arash found precisely in Arezzo. With the suspicion of infection, the woman was then admitted to the infectious diseases department from the emergency room, where laboratory tests confirmed her diagnosis: dengue infection. Yesterday, Sunday April 2, however the woman was discharged in good health, as communicated by the ASL.
The ASL press release also specifies that although the positivity to the virus has been found in Italy, it is not a native case, given that the virus has been imported from the tourist who contracted it in South America. Dengue is not a virus that is talked about a lot in Italy, where in fact there have been no significant cases. Although this virus has already been known for two centuries, in fact, its presence is mostly limited to tropical and subtropical areas Of:
- Africa;
- Southeast Asia;
- Chinese;
- India;
- Middle East;
- Latin and Central America;
- Australia;
- part of the Pacific.
In these areas the presence of dengue is particularly important during the rainy season, while in Europe and more generally in the countries of the northern hemisphere it manifests itself as import diseasefocusing on the movement of goods and people.
What is Dengue virus and how does it get infected?
Dengue is a viral disease that can be caused by four different viruses, each of which is transmitted via one mosquito tiger. There is therefore no direct contagion between human beings, but a mosquito must sting an infected person (within 2-7 days of infection, the period in which the virus circulates in the blood) and then sting another person.
Due to the way it spreads and the origin of the virus, dengue has not so far represented a serious risk for Italians and even this new case, as underlined by the ASL, should not create alarm precisely because the origin is foreign. At most, as highlighted by the Higher Institute of Health, it is necessary to consider the dengue danger at the level of global healthwith regard to the possible importation.
Dengue virus, symptoms and precautions to avoid its spread
About 5-6 days pass from the bite of the infected mosquito before the onset of the feverwhich can reach quite high temperatures. Fever is often accompanied by skin irritations and rashes, just as happened to the South American woman hospitalized in Arezzo, which appear on average 3-4 days after the onset of fever. In addition to this, dengue also causes other manifestations:
- Heachache;
- pain around and behind the eyes;
- muscle aches;
- joint pain;
- nausea;
- vomit.
The observation of the characteristic symptoms – which, moreover, rarely appear in children – is very often sufficient for the formulation of the diagnosis in adults, while in some cases it is necessary to resort to laboratory tests to ascertain dengue. With regard to treatment, however, there are no particular methods because usually the infection disappears completely within two weeks. Treatments are mostly limited to rest, the use of drugs to lower body temperature and the administration of fluids to avoid dehydration. It is mainly the fever that must be kept under control, especially if you are fit hemorrhagic (it is the haemorrhages, in fact, that cause the rare deaths from dengue).
However, prevention is very important, which consists mainly in the use of repellents and protections to avoid mosquito bites, in addition to disinfestation of the affected places (as will also happen in Arezzo). There are no vaccines yet, but they are under study. In any case, having contracted one of the viruses does not guarantee immunity to the other three.