Dengue Fever (Breakbone Fever)
什麼是Dengue Fever (Breakbone Fever)
Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-transmitted viral disease that is also known as “breakbone fever” because it causes severe joint and bone pain, among other symptoms. There are four types of dengue fever (dengue-1, -2, -3, -4), and the same viruses are responsible for dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) (see symptoms section). Dengue epidemics can be explosive and may affect a high percentage of the population, but fatalities in the absence of DHF are rare.
Between World War II and about 1970, severe dengue epidemics were recorded in only 9 tropical countries; now the disease occurs routinely in more than 100 countries. Dengue viruses cause more than 100 million infections per year around the world and result in more than 500,000 hospitalizations, most of them children. It causes fewer deaths—25,000 per year—than malaria, but its prolonged illness keeps people from work and affects both personal incomes and national economies.
您如何獲得Dengue Fever (Breakbone Fever)？
Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes that are infected with the virus. In particular, a day-biting species of mosquito is the most common transmitter. This mosquito has increased biting activity for 2 hours after sunrise and several hours before sunset. The species is found in both rural and urban settings.
易感性和抵抗力
Everyone can get dengue fever, but children usually have a milder disease than adults. Recovery from infection with one type of dengue provides lifelong immunity against that type but does not provide protection against other types. Immunity against one type may actually exacerbate subsequent infections, as well as increase the likelihood of getting DHF during subsequent infections.
有哪些症狀？
Dengue fever is characterized by the sudden onset of fever lasting 3 to 5 days (rarely more than 7), intense headache, muscle and joint pain, pain behind the eye, loss of appetite, gastro-intestinal disturbances, and small fine rash appearing around the time the fever subsides. Dark-skinned people usually have no visible rash. Minor bleeding, such as gum bleeding or nosebleeds, may occur at any time during the fever. Adults with underlying conditions may experience heavy bleeding, such as gastro-intestinal haemorrhage in peptic ulcer cases or excessive menstrual bleeding. Prolonged fatigue and depression are sometimes associated with recovery from dengue infections.
Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a serious and sometimes fatal complication of dengue infection. The patient’s condition may suddenly deteriorate due to the onset of increased vascular permeability (internal seepage of blood from the blood vessels into the tissues) with hypotension (loss of blood pressure) and shock. The patient may experience marked weakness, restlessness, facial pallor, severe abdominal pain, and cool extremities. The death rate can be as high as 40 to 50 percent in untreated cases; however, adequate treatment and fluid replacement can reduce the death rate to 1 to 2 percent.
預防措施
個人預防措施包括使用篩網和蚊帳，防護服和驅蚊劑來防止蚊蟲叮咬。如果可能，請呆在裝有空調或遮蔽良好的房屋中，並避免在黎明，黃昏和蚊子經常咬人的傍晚在戶外。
治療
There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. The only treatment available includes supportive measures to relieve symptoms, such as controlling the fever and adequate fluid intake.
通常在哪裡發生？
登革熱病毒（DF）的全球分佈密切跟蹤傳播該病的兩種蚊子的分佈情況。所有四種登革熱病毒類型現在都在熱帶地區的大多數國家廣泛傳播。
在亞洲，登革熱病毒在中國南部和海南、越南、老撾、柬埔寨（柬埔寨）、泰國、緬甸、印度、巴基斯坦、斯里蘭卡、印尼、菲律賓、馬來西亞和新加坡非常流行，在巴布亞紐發病率較低幾內亞、印度、孟加拉國、尼泊爾、臺灣和太平洋大部分地區。自1981年以來，一些登革熱病毒類型在澳大利亞北部的昆士蘭州傳播。
登革熱在非洲也很普遍。近年來，西非大部分地區、從莫三比克到埃塞俄比亞的非洲東海岸以及塞席爾和科摩羅等近海島嶼都爆發了疫情，登革熱和類似登革熱的登革熱病例數量很少。來自沙烏地阿拉伯的報導。
在美洲，自1977年以來，加勒比和中美洲和南美洲連續出現和傳播所有四種登革熱病毒。最近，德克薩斯州、基韋斯特州和佛羅里達州南部發生了小規模疫情。自20世紀90年代末開始，墨西哥、整個加勒比以及中美洲和南美洲的登革熱病毒定期出現。無論在城市或農村地區，只要有受感染的蚊子，都可能發生流行病。
