Not only South East Asia, but also Western countries are at risk of having outbreaks of dengue fever due to the proliferation of mosquitoes
By: VirgilioNotizie | Posted on: 07-06-2022 19:22
Singapore is facing an emergency linked to the spread of fever dengue, or bone-breaking fever, a seasonal disease which, however, presented itself decidedly early in the country this year. Before 1 June, the date on which the first cases generally begin to be found, they had already been registered beyond 11 thousand infectionscompared to 5,258 counted throughout 2021.
Infection boom in Singapore: because there are so many
The tropical climate of Singapore is a natural mating habitat for the mosquitoes aedes which spread the virus. However the timing with which the seasonal epidemic arrived, and the number of cases counted, have set in alarm the experts.
“Cases are increasing much faster,” said Desmond Tan, the interior minister of Singapore. “This is an emergency that we have to deal with urgency“.
In fact, the infections started earlier extreme weather phenomena due to the climate changes that are upsetting South East Asia.
What are the risks for the rest of the world and the West
With the current trend, we could see new and extensive outbreaks also ignite in other countries and in the West, where dengue fever is not endemic.
The World Health Organization makes it known that the states where the disease is endemic are 100and that infections have increased by 30 times in the past 50 years.
Pest control in Sri Lanka.
Will bone-breaking fever arrive in Italy? What do we know
In Italy the few cases that are counted every year are related to travel to tropical areas where bone-breaking fever is widespread. An increase in temperatures could also make our country one risk area.
In the Peninsula there are only the mosquitoes tigers which can transmit the pathogen of dengue fever, but with low efficacy.
Aedes, on the other hand, are not suited to survive winters Italians. However, an increase in temperatures, even by a few degrees, could make them sedentary also on our territory.
Symptoms of dengue fever and available treatments
Dengue manifests itself with fever 5 or 6 days after the mosquito bite, with even very high temperatures and a series of symptoms which vary from person to person and are generally absent in the little ones.
- Acute headaches.
- Pain around and behind the eyes.
- Severe muscle and joint pain.
- Nausea and vomit.
- Skin irritations.
In rare cases the disease can also develop in the form of fever hemorrhagicand blood loss can also result fatal.
There is not yet a vaccine, and the infection protects only from the specific viral strain and not from the other three. The treatments are aimed at the symptoms. Generally and healseven without drugs, within a week or two.
Photo source: ANSA