Dengue

Fever
Awareness and Prevention
By the end of the presentation, the learners will be able to:

• Define dengue fever

• Explain how dengue fever is transmitted
• Identify its signs and symptoms
• Know how dengue fever is diagnosed
• Know the treatment of dengue fever
• Enumerate list of prevention methods
 What is Dengue Fever?
• It is an illness caused by infection with a virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito.
• Symptoms typically begin four to fourteen days after infection.
• In rare cases, the disease develops into life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in
bleeding, low levels of blood platelets, and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where
dangerously low blood pressure occurs. It can be fatal.
WHO IS AT RISK?

The National Epidemiology Center of the Majority of the infected patients were 5 to 14 year old children
Philippines' Department of Health reports a (38.91% of the total cases), and more than half were males (52.77%).
total of 59,943 dengue cases from January 1 A total of 242 deaths (CFR 0.40%) was recorded since January 2014,
to September 6, 2014. and most of them were children.
 Characteristic of the Aedes Mosquito

• One distint physical

feature – black and white
stripes on its body and
legs
• Bites during the day
• Lay its eggs in clean,
stagnant water
• Only the female Aedes mosquito feeds on
blood. This is because they need the
protein found in blood to produce eggs.
Male mosquitoes feed only on plant
nectar.
• On average, a female Aedes mosquito can
lay about 300 eggs during her life span
of 14 to 21 days.
Life cycle of the Aedes Mosquito

1-2 days

Pupae Larvae Eggs

4-5 days 2-3 days

Stagnant water
How is Dengue Fever transmitted?
Signs and Symptoms of Dengue Fever
 How is Dengue Fever diagnosed?
• Most physicians will order a complete blood test (CBC), with a metabolic panel, along with coagulation studies in
most patients with high fever and any bleeding problems.
• Depending on the symptoms (especially headache), blood and urine cultures plus a spinal tap may be done to help
differentiate between dengue fever and other diseases.
• A MAC-ELISA assay (an immunoglobulin M-based test) is the most widely used test for dengue fever virus.
• However, other tests are available; they also are based on the person's immunological response to the dengue
viruses (for example, IgG-ELISA, dengue viral plaque reduction tests, and PCR tests).
If you start to feel worse in the first 24
hours after your fever goes down, you
should rush to a hospital IMMEDIATELY
to be checked for complications
Environmental Factors that contributes to the widespread
infection of Dengue Fever
The 4S against Dengue Fever

1. Search and Destroy

 Throw away, turn over, empty or store under a roof
any container that may accumulate rain water
 Always place a tight lid on containers used for water
storage (buckets, drums)
 Check that there are no mosquito larvae or pupae
(kiti-kiti) in stored water (empty the container, wash
walls with a brush remove eggs, rinse, and cover
 Maintain running water in fountains, artificial lakes or
estuaries. Place fish in ornamental fountains that are
always filled with water
2. Self-Protection Measures
 Use screens on doors and windows
 Use insecticides such as Pemethrin (pesticide and
repellant) and Allethrin (candls and lanterns). Wear
long sleeves, shirts, long pants, socks, and closed
shoes to avoid mosquito bites at dusk and dawn
especially
 Use repellants containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-
toluamide) or Picaridin on your clothing and exposed
skin. Follow the manufacturer’s instruction.
3.Seek Early Consultation
 If you or a family member has fever of 2 days
duration and rashes on the skin, consult your
physician or visit nearest health center.
 If it is dengue, serious complications of the
disease can develop. If the complications are
recognized early, and a doctor is consulted, it
may save the patient’s life.
4.Say No to Indiscriminate Fogging
Fogging operations fail because these
merely drive away mosquitoes to other
areas
Yes to fogging only during outbreeaks