Dengue Fever Pictures

Dengue Fever Pictures

Most common in areas of south east Asia and some parts of Africa, Dengue fever is a virus that is spread by mosquitoes. It has been known to cause very high fever as well as intense rashes that can sometimes grow into lesions if not treated properly. The problem is, this disease often strikes in impoverished areas where the proper care isn't always readily available, and people suffering from a simple fever aren't properly treated. This can result in serious complications or even in death in a lot of cases. If you believe that your or someone you know is suffering from Dengue fever, contact a medical professional right away to get more information. As we've already mentioned, symptoms include a very high fever, itchy and discolored rashes over large parts of your body, skin lesions, as well as painful or achy joints and muscles, and headaches. Below, we've included some photos of patients who are suffering from Dengue fever so that you can have a point of reference to understand this viral disease and what it looks like when people have it.


As was mentioned before, Dengue fever is transmitted almost exclusively through mosquitoes in areas of Asia and Africa. Simple things like mosquito nets can make a huge difference in people's lives in terms of keeping them happy and healthy. Unfortunately, in many of those areas, even the most basic elements for disease control aren't available and it takes a constant and sustained effort from concerned people to work to educate the public on the causes of diseases like Dengue fever, as well as to secure and distribute the means to reduce the occurrence of this disease. This is a mosquito transmitting the disease from one person to another through sucking the blood of its victim.

Although Dengue fever normally presents as a slightly discolored area (could be a very large area of skin) covered in an ichy rash, it can also sometimes present in more extreme ways. The skin lesion here is painful and also potentially dangerous because of a lot of bleeding underneath the skin. This sort of reaction is rare, but also can happen a lot if the rashes and disease in general go untreated. Also, a lot of scratching or skin aggravation can lead to a lot of problems, though in this particular case, it was probably a combination of all three.

In some patients, people with Dengue fever can become really sick and experience a lot of bleeding, even into eye cavities like in this case. Broken capillaries and blood vessels in the eyes can cause serious problems for people and it can cause vision problems. This patient has experienced these bleeding symptoms and run into some very serious problems. This type of bleeding can be corrected and cured with the proper treatment, but hurry. Often, these types of more serious symptoms are indications that the disease has reached a pretty advanced phase and can mean that treatment needs to be administered very soon in order to prevent more permanent damage.

Perhaps the most common symptom of Dengue fever is the slightly discolored itchy rash. Usually, it begins in a small area around where the initial infection took place from the bug bite, but it can spread very quickly. This is a particularly bad case where the rash has spread completely over the person's skin all along their back, neck, and arms. The rash is extremely itchy and as you can see, slightly discolored red and also slightly raised above the skin. This patient will need to receive treatment right away both for the uncomfortable symptoms of the rash as well as for the fever itself as the rash progressing this far indicates that the disease has moved to a pretty advanced stage. Again, medical care at this stage is very, very important.

Here is a summary of all the symptoms we've talked about associated with Dengue fever. Take note of the headache, eye pain, and muscle aches along with the rash which is the most common symptom, along with fever. Back pain is another common symptom which usually accompanies the joint and muscle pain associated with the disease. This viral infection is very serious and we can't stress enough how important it is that you seek medical help immediately if you or someone you know has this disease, because although it is typically only found in parts of Asia and Africa, it can occur anywhere and all over the world in any person.

We hope this guide to information concerning Dengue fever has been helpful, and we hope these photos have provided valuable inisght into what some of these symptoms actually look like. All the photos and information are meant to be helpful to you, but bear in mind that although the information on this site comes from medical research, it is not written by or with the consultation of a doctor, and therefore should not be taken as medical fact. Instead, use the information and photos as a guideline to understanding some of the symptoms of Dengue fever so you are more informed about when you should call a doctor and what to tell him or her when  you talk.

Dengue Fever Prevention

Neither vaccine nor drugs for preventing infection are available. The bite of one infected mosquito can result in infection. The risk of being bitten is highest during the early morning, several hours after daybreak, and in the late afternoon before sunset. However, mosquitoes may feed at any time during the day. Aedes mosquitoes typically live indoors and are often found in dark, cool places such as in closets, under beds, behind curtains, and in bathrooms. Travelers should be advised to use insecticides to get rid of mosquitoes in these areas and to select accommodations with well-screened windows or air conditioning when possible. Additionally, travelers should take measures to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Long-term travelers and expatriates can take extra precautions to reduce mosquito-breeding sites around their accommodations by emptying and cleaning or covering any standing water (such as in water storage tanks and flowerpot trays).

How can dengue fever be prevented?

The transmission of the virus to mosquitoes must be interrupted to prevent the illness. To this end, patients are kept under mosquito netting until the second bout of fever is over and they are no longer contagious.
The prevention of dengue requires control or eradication of the mosquitoes carrying the virus that causes dengue. In nations plagued by dengue fever, people are urged to empty stagnant water from old tires, trash cans, and flower pots. Governmental initiatives to decrease mosquitoes also help to keep the disease in check but have been poorly effective.
To prevent mosquito bites, wear long pants and long sleeves. For personal protection, use mosquito repellant sprays that contain DEET when visiting places where dengue is endemic. There are no specific risk factors for contracting dengue fever, except living in or traveling to an area where the mosquitoes and virus are endemic. Limiting exposure to mosquitoes by avoiding standing water and staying indoors two hours after sunrise and before sunset will help. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is a daytime biter with peak periods of biting around sunrise and sunset. It may bite at any time of the day and is often hidden inside homes or other dwellings, especially in urban areas.
There is currently no vaccination available for dengue fever. There is a vaccine undergoing clinical trials, but it is too early to tell if it will be safe or effective. Early results of clinical trials show that a vaccine may be available by 2015.

Mosquito Life-Cycle

Aedes aegypti and other mosquitoes have a complex life-cycle with dramatic changes in shape, function, and habitat. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs on the inner, wet walls of containers with water. Larvae hatch (picture 1, inset) when water inundates the eggs as a result of rains or the addition of water by people. In the following days, the larvae (picture 2) will feed on microorganisms and particulate organic matter, shedding their skins three times to be able to grow from first to fourth instars. When the larva has acquired enough energy and size and is in the fourth instar, metamorphosis is triggered, changing the larva into a pupa (picture 3). Pupae do not feed; they just change in form until the body of the adult, flying mosquito is formed. Then, the newly formed adult emerges from the water after breaking the pupal skin (picture 4, inset). The entire life cycle lasts 8-10 days at room temperature, depending on the level of feeding. Thus, there is an aquatic phase (larvae, pupae) and a terrestrial phase (eggs, adults) in the Ae. aegypti life-cycle.
It is this life-cycle complexity that makes it rather difficult to understand where the mosquitoes come from. Similar complex life-cycles with aquatic and terrestrial forms are observed in amphibians. For educational and training purposes, it is rather useful to make life-cycle kits, so people have an opportunity to watch how the aquatic stages turn into terrestrial ones.

There is a very important adaptation of Ae. aegypti and other dengue vectors that makes controlling their populations a difficult task. Their eggs can withstand desiccation for several months, which means that even if all larvae, pupae, and adults were eliminated at some point in time, repopulation will occur as soon as the eggs in the containers are flooded with water. Unfortunately, there is no effective way to control the eggs in containers.

Sri Lankan experts give serious advice on dengue

Sri Lankan experts give serious advice on dengue
 
ISLAMABAD: Amid mounting deaths caused by dengue fever, a team of Sri Lankan experts, specialized in treating and controlling the disease, says fumigation, being done officially or unofficially, can help overcome the spread of ailment by just 15 per cent while preventive measures taken by the community at homes can defeat it by 85 per cent.
They have told worried Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that the dengue fever was basically a "domestic problem" that citizens would have to deal with. "If clean water is kept uncovered at homes, the disease cannot be curbed," one of them said.
The team comprises doctors, clinical experts, epidemiologist, physicians and communication specialists that is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of the Punjab government to make suggestions on treating and controlling the dengue fever as Sri Lanka has an excellent experience of defeating it.
The experts said Sri Lanka has successfully grappled with the disease over the past thirty years mainly by creating 100% public awareness. Additionally, it has introduced legislation that penalizes citizens who do not implement precautionary measures in their homes.
They said that the incidence of tremendous drop of platelets in patients struck by the dengue fever is highly negligible, just 0.12 %, and prompt making up of the deficiency is at times counter-productive. The experts said that Sri Lanka treated at least 35,000 dengue fever patients in 2009. Of them, there were only 350 deaths.
They explained that patients were afflicted by dengue fever or dengue hemorrhage fever. They said that the panic created in Pakistan has led to most deaths because some affected who are already suffering from diabetes or heart problems can't physically and psychologically bear the pressure of the disease and collapse having cardiac arrest. The experts said that the ratio of those hit by dengue hemorrhage fever, which was very serious disease, was just 0.1 percent. They said that the best treatment for the dengue fever patient was to keep checking his or her temperature for three days and then treat him by the use of only Paracetamol in the next ten days to make him recover from the disease.
The experts said that last year Sri Lanka had 3,500 such patients but only one died. They said that hospitals were meant to treat many more serious patients, who deserved immediate attention.
They said fumigation could not be very helpful because the disease spreads from homes. He said that in Sri Lanka public awareness has been achieved by 95 % and the rest of the 5 % are prosecuted and jailed for not adhering to the law.
The experts said that even if a small minority of citizens did not take precautionary measures at their residence, several others living in the neighbourhood are affected. The Sri Lanka team told the chief minister that it would stay in Pakistan till the time the problem was overcome. It said that it would carry out tests of all water triggering dengue fever. An official, who was present in the briefing, said that the Sri Lanka experts were also taking preventive measures to avoid the disease because they were tremendously exposed.
End.

Your Guide to Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever is a major global health threat and a leading cause of mortality in the tropics and subtropics. It is caused by infection with any one of four serotypes of dengue virus transmitted by the bite of the Aedes mosquito. This mosquito species breeds around habitations and feeds during the day. As many as 100 million people are infected annually, of which about 25,000 die of the disease.

Presentation

Once inoculated into the human body, dengue has an incubation period (during which the virus multiplies) of 3-14 days. Thereafter, in the typical form of the disease, a five- to seven-day acute fever ensues. Recovery is usually complete by 7-10 days.
It is important to appreciate that about half of all dengue infections go completely unnoticed. Some patients have isolated fever while others may produce the typical symptom complex of classic dengue fever (DF). Fever may be as high as 106°F. The fever presents in a nonspecific manner and may not be distinguishable from other infectious illnesses. The fever in DF is often preceded by chills, red speckles on the skin, and facial flushing. It typically begins on the third day of symptoms and lasts five to seven days. The other symptoms associated with DF include headache, which is usually generalised, pain in the back of the eye, nausea or vomiting and a rash that begins on day three and persists for about three days. DF can also be associated with muscle aches, joint pains and generalised fatigue. Abdominal pain when present can be a heralding sign of a more serious form of the disease, known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
DHF is characterised by bleeding. This may be as mild as small amounts of oozing from the nose or gums or serious enough to present with copious bloody vomiting, an abnormally heavy period or excessive blood in the stool. Abdominal pain, excessive restlessness, confusion, decrease in body temperature, and a drop in the platelet count are indicators of imminent DHF.
Patients who have previously had DF (over half of which go unnoticed) are specifically at risk for development of DHF. It is also important to keep in mind that it is at the time when the fever is receding that DF patients are at greatest risk for DHF. This is the time to watch for the warning signs mentioned above and seek emergency care. If not properly taken care of, DHF complications (particularly gastrointestinal bleeding) can worsen and induce shock. This most severe and fatal form of dengue is known as Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). DSS is characterised by cold-clammy skin, a fast heart rate, decreased blood pressure, delirium, difficulty breathing and damage to the internal organs specifically the liver and kidney. DSS can lead to multiorgan failure and death.

Outcome

Most patients achieve a complete recovery from dengue. Even patients with DHF and DSS usually recover with proper resuscitation. Infection with one dengue serotype confers lifelong immunity against that particular serotype, but still leaves the individual susceptible to the other three serotypes. As mentioned above, a subsequent infection by a different serotype is a major risk factor for the development of DHF and, as a result, DSS.

Prevention

No vaccine is currently available to prevent contracting the dengue virus. Consequently, the most effective protective measures are those that avoid mosquito bites. Repellants and protective clothing are simple effective measures to take. Even better, eliminate mosquito breeding grounds: ensure no water is left standing in flower vases, old tires, etc. Since the Aedes is a day-biting mosquito, mosquito nets are not useful. (Read about some alternative solutions to protecting your home here.)

Diagnosis

DF is diagnosed clinically, based on the patient’s presenting symptoms and signs. A complete blood count might reveal a low white cell and platelet count. Serological testing and PCR are not only very costly but are unhelpful in the initial stages of the disease.

Treatment

Dengue fever is usually a self-limited illness, and only supportive care is required. No specific antiviral medication currently is available to treat dengue infections. Paracetamol should be used to manage the fever. Other agents including aspirin should be avoided, especially in children.
Patients may become dehydrated from fever, vomiting or lack of adequate dietary intake. Patients who are able to tolerate oral fluids should be encouraged to drink oral rehydration solution, fruit juice or water to prevent dehydration. Patients should also have their blood counts measured daily from the third day of illness until one to two days after the fever abates.
Patients who improve can continue to be monitored in an outpatient setting. Patients who do not improve should be admitted to specialised camps or a hospital for hydration. Patients with dengue shock syndrome are treated in intensive care units.
No specific diet is necessary for patients with dengue fever. Bed rest is advised.
When the patient’s fever is going away, watch for the warning signs mentioned above (taken from the CDC site here). If any of them appear, take the patient to the Emergency department of your nearest hospital immediately.

US Research About dengue

US Research About dengue

We have some very exciting leads on different types of vaccines that are in various stages of clinical trial that hopefully can be implemented with a reasonable period of time," said Anthony Fauci, director of the infectious diseases division of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Regional health researchers met Thursday in the Puerto Rican capital to discuss progress and treatment of dengue, which is transmitted to humans by the female Aedes mosquitoes.
Dengue causes a severe flu-like illness for most victims that lasts about a week. There are four strains, one of which is a potentially lethal type.
Dengue has reemerged in recent years as a serious public health threat in tropical regions.
It killed 1,167 people in Latin America last year. Puerto Rico recorded the largest outbreak in its history with 21,000 cases last year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. There were 69 cases in the Key West section of the US state of Florida in 2010.
The Philippines recorded more than 730 deaths and Malaysia 134 in 2010, according to figures from the World Health Organization, while India experienced a 20-year high in infections.
Harold Margolis, director of the CDC's dengue center, said he's hopeful that a vaccine would soon be available.
"There's been tremendous progress," he said. "There are a number of vaccines that are now in clinical trials and there's now very exciting information there, so we are finally getting (into the last process) but it can take a while."
Fauci, from the NIH, added: "We need a better understanding of the relationship between the dengue virus and the vector, mainly the mosquito."
Meanwhile, surveillance is vital.
"The important factor is how good our surveillance is to pick up the disease," Margolis said. "I think right now we know where it is and now we need to be creative with the new tools and research to try to make sure that doesn't go any further."
The infectious diseases division of the NIH spent $45 million in dengue research last year, up from $5 million in 2000.
One theory for the resurgence is global warming, allowing the mosquitoes, and hence dengue fever, to spread.
Drought conditions in some areas also have worsened the outbreak because people have stored water in and near their living areas, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes that harbor the virus.
Authorities in Sri Lanka were so concerned about dengue last year that they introduced heavy fines for people with standing water on their property, and deployed troops to clean up public places.
The three-day summit in Puerto Rico was hosted by NIH, CDC and the Pan American Health Organization.

Residence of dengue insect

 The New Delhi Municipal Council has started spraying 
and fogging to sanitise and control mosquito-breeding in the New Delhi area after the insects were found breeding near the Prime Minister’s residence last week.
While P K Sharma, a health official, NDMC claims it is just a precautionary step, sources in the civic body’s Health department have informed that NDMC personnel had spotted mosquitoes breeding in the nallah near 7, Race Course Road during a routine check on June 10.
Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes were also seen breeding near Assam Bhawan, Punjab Bhawan and in the coolers at various shops in A block, Connaught Place, they said.
The civic body has now deployed around 170 personnel to carry out fogging and spraying operations.
“Keeping in mind last year’s dengue outbreak in the Capital, we have already initiated steps to sanitise these areas. If needed, we will deploy more people to bring the situation under control,” a health official said.

Lame mosquitoes to stop dengue

Scientists are breeding a genetically altered strain of mosquito in an effort to curb the spread of dengue fever.

The dengue virus is spread by the bite of infected female mosquitoes and there is no vaccine or treatment.
Experts say the illness affects up to 100 million people a year and threatens over a third of the world's population.
Scientists hope their genetically altered males will mate with females to create female offspring that will inherit a gene limiting wing growth.
The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The scientists say their approach offers a safe, efficient alternative to harmful insecticides and could be used to stop other diseases spread by mosquitoes, like malaria.
They estimate that if released, the new breed could sustainably suppress the native mosquito population in six to nine months.
Researcher Professor Anthony James, of the University of California, Irvine, said: "Current dengue control methods are not sufficiently effective, and new ones are urgently needed.
"Controlling the mosquito that transmits this virus could significantly reduce human morbidity and mortality."