World Health warns of an outbreak of dengue fever in America

2023-11-08 2023-11-08T16:37:14Z

ArabiaWeather - The World Health Organization has warned that diseases transmitted through mosquito bites may pose a major threat during this decade. She pointed to the need to be prepared, saying: “We need to be prepared.”

Sir Jeremy Farrar, a senior scientist at the World Health Organization, said that hospitals in multiple regions must begin planning to confront these diseases.

The World Health Organization has confirmed that a disease transmitted by mosquito bites that causes thousands of deaths annually may pose a major threat in the United States. She pointed out the possibility of dengue fever spreading in the southern United States and southern Europe before 2030, as a result of rising temperatures, which will increase the spread of mosquitoes that carry this disease and thus increase the incidence of infection.

Dengue fever kills about 20,000 people annually

Statistics indicate that about 20,000 people die annually as a result of dengue fever, and most of these victims are located in the regions of Asia and South America. The death rate from this disease is about one death for every 100 infected people.

In the United States, about 1,200 cases are recorded annually, of which about 600 are the result of local infection. But there is growing concern about the spread of the disease after the first local infection was recorded in California in a decade last month.

Scientists warn that dengue fever could become part of the US environment if mosquitoes infected in Mexico manage to move north. They also point to the risk that travelers coming to the United States who are infected may transmit the virus if they are bitten by local mosquitoes, which in turn transmit the disease to other people.

The disease is transmitted through the bites of the Aedes mosquito, which is already present in some areas of the south. It is active all the time and can reproduce even in the smallest pools of water.

“We need to be more proactive about dengue,” Dr. Farrar said. “We really need to prepare countries for the additional pressures that will emerge in the future in many major cities,” he added.

He also emphasized: “Clinical care is very labor-intensive, with a high ratio of nurses to patients. I am really concerned when this becomes a big problem in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Dr. Farrar previously spent 18 years studying tropical diseases, including dengue in Vietnam.

Dr Farrar subsequently took up the position of Chairman of the Wellcome Trust global health trust and advised the UK Government on its response to the Covid-19 pandemic before joining the World Health Organization in May this year.

Dengue fever is spreading in the United States

According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, dengue outbreaks have already been recorded in the United States, although they are “relatively small and limited,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But experts warn that the disease may spread more due to rising temperatures.

Symptoms of dengue fever

The newspaper explained that dengue fever is a viral infection caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans when they are bitten by mosquitoes. Most infected people do not show any symptoms, but slightly less than half of them may show warning signs of the disease, such as sudden headache, fever, and pain behind the eyes. The disease can also lead to pain in the joints, such as the knees and elbows, and these pains are so severe that they feel like a person's bones are breaking, making it known as "bone fracture fever."

In severe cases, the disease can lead to life-threatening complications such as dengue shock syndrome characterized by severe bleeding, encephalitis, and brain swelling. Patients are usually treated with a combination of medications to relieve pain, providing fluids, and using devices to monitor their condition. However, this is labor-intensive, often resulting in a lack of capacity to accommodate more patients in hospitals.

There is also a vaccine available to prevent the disease called Qdenga, which is recommended for children ages 6 to 16 in areas where the disease is common.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved the launch of this vaccine in the United States, and the manufacturer is still in talks in this regard.