Dengue Fever is a viral illness that is transmitted by the mosquito Aedes Aegypti
People that are bitten by the mosquito carrying the virus may experience one or more of the following symptoms within 5 to 8 days:
By taking a few simple steps individuals and communities can prevent and control Dengue:
- Clean coolers and pots every week.
- If you have to store water, use tightly covered containers or cover with fine mesh wire so that they do not become a mosquito breeding source.
- Put oil/kerosene if water is collected.
- Use mosquito repellent – Care should be taken in using repellents on small children and the elderly.
- Wear full sleeves shirt ,trousers to avoid mosquito bite.
- Remember it is very important for households to eliminate breeding sites.
If the child is suffering from fever, we need not panic and can do a simple medical test at home to assess capillary fragility, called the Hess Test. To perform this test, the pressure is applied to the forearm with a blood pressure cuff inflated to between systolic and diastolic blood pressure for 5 minutes. After removing the cuff, the number of petechiae in one square inch of the area under pressure is counted. More than 5 petechiae indicate capillary fragility which occurs due to poor platelet function, bleeding diathesis or thrombocytopenia and can be seen in cases of Dengue fever, commonly after 5 days