With the advent of rainy season there has been dengue outbreak in our country and cases were reported from the different metropolitan cities. No vaccine is available yet and there is no specific treatment. Hence DF/DHF control is primarily dependent on control of Ades aegypti mosquito.

Symptoms
Symptoms of typical uncomplicated (classic) dengue usually start with fever within 4 to 7 days after you have been bitten by an infected mosquito and include high fever, up to 105ºF, severe headache, retro-orbital (behind the eye) pain, severe joint and muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, rash.

The rash may appear over most of the body 3 to 4 days after the fever begins, and then subsides after 1 to 2 days. You may get a second rash a few days later.

Symptoms of dengue hemorrhagic fever include all of the symptoms of classic dengue in addition to marked damage to blood and lymph vessels, bleeding from the nose, gums, or under the skin, causing purplish bruises.

Symptoms of dengue shock syndrome — the most severe form of dengue disease — include all of the symptoms of classic dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever, plus fluids leaking outside of blood vessels, massive bleeding, shock (very low blood pressure).

Treatment

• Complete bed rest is essential and patient should take sufficient fluid drinks (fruit juice, ORS etc.). This will help correction of dehydration due to fluid loss from vomiting and high fever.
• Should consult the physician immediately for appropriate management of the illness and must be referred to the hospital if needed.
• We should not use Aspirin or NSAID-these drugs may trigger gastritis and provoke bleeding.
• Giving antibiotic is useless.
• In any case appropriate consultation and referral to hospital may be needed

Prevention

• Avoid mosquito bites, use long sleeve shirts and protective clothing
• Sleep under mosquito nets even during day as dengue mosquitoes bite during day.
• Discard objects in which water collects, e.g. tins, cans, coconut shells, etc. Do not allow water to collect in pits around your houses. All stored water containers should be covered all the time. This will prevent breeding of Dengue mosquitoes, and
• The patient should be kept under a mosquito net or in a screened room during the period of illness
• Destroy all domestic and peri-domestic breeding sources of Ades aegypti mosquito (artificial containers, coconut shells, canes, used tires, earthen pots, flower vase, ant-traps etc.)
• Use of mats, coils, aerosol house spray, vaporising mosquito repellents etc. may be useful
• Use of Repellent: Essential oils from plant extracts (neem oil, lemon grass, citronella oil etc.) give protection from mosquito bites.