Dengue fever outbreak claims many lives in Pakistan

Dengue fever crisis in Pakistan deepens as deaths toll swells

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 22 -- Death toll from an epidemic of dengue fever, which has gripped Pakistan's most populous and eastern province of Punjab, has now reached 62 as another man died on Thursday, health officials and local media reported. The fever, which has also been reported in other parts of the country, has infected nearly 8,000 in the last two months, they said. Till Thursday, 100,000 people have rushed to government and private hospitals in Lahore for medical test as every citizen is now wanting to get doctors' advice. Residents say that 50 percent people now avoid visiting parks and picnic spots in Lahore

Dengue fever
(breakbone

fever) is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.

The mosquito Aedes aegypti feeding off a human host

Dengue fever

dengue virus

Dengue fever virus (DENV) is an RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae; genus Flavivirus. four strains of the virus, DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4 Dengue virus is primarily transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, particularly A. aegypti

 Humans

are the primary host of the virus, An infection can be acquired via a single bite. A female mosquito that takes a blood meal from a person infected with dengue fever .

Symptoms

Fever, Headache, Muscle and joint pains, skin rash.

life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, bleeding low levels of blood platelets Blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, Dangerously low blood pressure

Symptoms

A decision for hospital admission is typically based on the presence of the "warning signs".

Warning signs
Abdominal

pain Ongoing vomiting Liver enlargement Mucosal bleeding High hematocrit with low platelets Lethargy

hospital admission

laboratory investigations The earliest change;

a low white blood cell count, low platelets, metabolic acidosis,

In severe disease,

plasma leakage results in hemoconcentration ( a rising hematocrit) hypoalbuminemia. Pleural effusions or ascites.

laboratory investigations
The

complete blood count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered blood tests. The complete blood count is the calculation of the cellular (formed elements) of blood.

Platelets
150,000

to 450,000 platelets per microliter (mcL) If the number of platelets is too low, excessive bleeding can occur. if the number of platelets is too high, blood clots

Tests for dengue

Tests for dengue virusspecific antibodies, types IgG and IgM, can be useful in confirming a diagnosis in the later stages of the infection. Both IgG and IgM are produced after 57 days

Treatment
There are no specific treatments for dengue fever. Treatment depends on the symptoms, varying from oral rehydration therapy at home with close follow-up, Hospital admission with administration of intravenous

fluids and/or blood transfusion.

Treatment

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is used for fever and discomfort

NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and aspirin are avoided as they might aggravate the risk of bleeding

intravenous fluids

Dengue is endemic
Dengue

is endemic in more than 110 countries. It infects 50 to 100 million people worldwide a year, leading to half a million hospitalizations, and approximately 12,50025,000 deaths

No vaccines

There

are no approved vaccines for the dengue virus.

Prevention of Dengue fever

Prevention thus depends on control of and protection from the bites of the mosquito that transmits it.

Prevention of Dengue fever

The primary method of controlling A. aegypti is by eliminating its habitats This is done by emptying containers of water or by adding insecticides or biological control agents to these areas,

Prevention of Dengue fever

Reducing open collections of water through environmental modification is the preferred method of control, given the concerns of negative health effect from insecticides and greater logistical difficulties with control agents

Environmental management

Prevention of Dengue fever

People

can prevent mosquito bites by wearing clothing that fully covers the skin, Using mosquito netting while resting,

Prevention of Dengue fever The application of insect repellent

GROUP MEMBER,S
MBA (AGRI-1st) MUHAMMED ARIF GHULAM SHABIR MUHAMMED LATIF

Chemical control

Larvicides Adulticides Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is the application of long-acting chemical insecticides on the walls and roofs of all houses and domestic animal shelters in a given area, in order to kill the adult vector mosquitoes that land and rest on these surfaces

Prevention of Dengue fever

Prevention of Dengue fever

Biological control

Biological control is based on the introduction of organisms that prey upon, parasitize, compete with or otherwise reduce populations of the target species. Against Aedes, a selection of larvivorous fish species and predatory copepods (small freshwater crustaceans) are effective against the immature larval stages of vector mosquitoes.

 Most

people with dengue recover without any ongoing problems. The mortality is 15% without treatment, less than 1% with adequate treatment; severe disease carries a mortality of 26%.

Thank