National Day travel: Be alert that this infectious disease has entered the epidemic season
The Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention announced an overview of the province’s notifiable infectious diseases in August 2024. A total of 1,220 cases of dengue fever were reported in the province, an increase of 987 cases compared with July (233 cases). Since May this year, local cases of dengue fever have been reported in some areas of Guangdong.
Since 2024, the global dengue fever epidemic situation has been severe, and the epidemic intensity has significantly exceeded the same period in previous years. The dengue fever epidemic situation in Southeast Asia and American countries has continued to rise.
September is the month of high incidence of dengue fever in my country. Guangdong, Yunnan and other places have entered the dengue fever epidemic season, and the National Day is approaching. Disease control and prevention in many places remind everyone: be more vigilant, do a good job in mosquito prevention, and beware of contracting dengue fever.
What is dengue fever?
Dengue fever is an acute infectious disease caused by the dengue virus and is spread among people through the bites of Aedes mosquitoes. There is no direct transmission from person to person. So you can’t get dengue fever if you don’t get bitten.
The peak season for dengue fever is summer and autumn, with the number of cases generally beginning to increase from May, and the peak incidence period from August to October.
What does an Aedes mosquito look like?
There are two types of mosquitoes that can transmit dengue fever, namely Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. They have black and white patterns on their bodies. In some areas, they are also called “Asian tiger mosquitoes” and “flower mosquitoes”.
Aedes albopictus is widely distributed, starting from Shenyang in the north, passing through Qinhuangdao in Hebei, Taiyuan in Shanxi, Tianshui and Longnan in Gansu, Ya’an in Sichuan, to the Medog line in Tibet and its southeastern side. Aedes aegypti is mainly distributed in coastal cities (counties) and volcanic rock areas in Hainan, a small part of the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong, the border districts and counties of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Dehong Prefecture and Lincang City in Yunnan, and the south and south of Chiayi County in Taiwan. Parts of Penghu County.
Where is dengue fever found?
Dengue fever is widespread in urban and semi-urban areas of tropical and subtropical regions around the world. After the arrival of the rainy season, precipitation increases, and as the vector Aedes mosquitoes breed in large numbers, dengue fever also spreads.
At present, countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Paraguay, have entered the epidemic season of dengue fever. When traveling to these areas, everyone must take anti-mosquito measures.
What will happen if you get dengue fever?
Fever (up to 39°C): Fever is the most common symptom after being infected with dengue fever, and you feel very tired. Sometimes there are also symptoms such as anorexia, nausea, stomachache, and diarrhea.
“Three pains, three reds”: headache, orbital pain (eyes feel like they are on fire), general muscle, bone and joint pain (low back pain), and flushing of the face, neck, and chest.
Skin rash: On the 3rd to 6th day after the onset of the disease, some patients will develop symptoms such as rash and itching on the face and limbs, which will subside after 3 to 4 days.
Bleeding manifestations: In some cases, symptoms such as nosebleeds, gum bleeding, menorrhagia, subcutaneous bleeding, and blood in urine occur 5-8 days after fever.
How to treat dengue fever?
There is currently no specific antiviral drug to treat dengue fever. Timely medical treatment, early diagnosis, and early symptomatic treatment can reduce the risk of disease exacerbation.
After getting sick, pay attention to rest and pay attention to mosquito-proof isolation (use screen doors and windows and mosquito nets).
The main method of reducing fever is physical cooling.
There is still a risk of the condition worsening after the fever subsides. Once symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, red spots on the skin, bleeding from the mouth and nose, hematemesis and bloody stools, lethargy and irritability, clammy skin, difficulty breathing, etc., indicate the need for emergency care, you should return immediately. Go to an outpatient clinic or emergency room.
How to prevent mosquitoes during a short stay in a dengue fever-endemic area?
Wear long-sleeved clothes and long pants when outdoors, and use mosquito repellent to prevent mosquito bites.
Screen doors and screen windows should be closed in hotels and B&B rooms, and mosquito coils and mosquito-killing aerosols can be used in the rooms. Special attention should be paid to cribs and strollers, and mosquito nets should also be installed.
When using insecticides to kill mosquitoes at home, follow the product instructions and keep them out of reach of children.
Avoid staying in shaded outdoor areas such as trees, grass, pavilions, etc.
If you have fever, rash and other suspected symptoms, you should seek medical advice promptly and proactively explain the bite situation.
If fever occurs within 2 weeks after returning to the local area, you should seek medical treatment promptly and explain your travel history. In order to avoid spreading the disease to your family, please cooperate with the local health department and be hospitalized for isolation treatment.
When do you suspect you have dengue fever?
If you have stayed in a country or region where dengue fever is endemic in the past 2 weeks, or if dengue fever occurs in the community, street or even city where you live and move, you will have a sudden fever (sometimes up to 39°C) accompanied by one of the following symptoms. 1 – Obvious fatigue, anorexia, nausea, etc., often accompanied by severe headache, orbital pain, general muscle pain, bone and joint pain, and may be accompanied by flushing of the face, neck, and chest, you should consider the possibility of being infected with dengue fever. At this time, you should go to a regular hospital for medical treatment as soon as possible, and take the initiative to explain to the doctor that you may have dengue fever, so that you can get diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible, and take anti-mosquito isolation to prevent further spread.
Is there a vaccine to prevent dengue fever?
There is currently no approved and registered vaccine for dengue fever on the market, which means that there is currently no way to prevent dengue fever through vaccination.
Currently, there are no specific antiviral treatment drugs, and supportive and symptomatic treatment measures are mainly adopted. The treatment principles are early detection, early diagnosis, early treatment, and early mosquito prevention and isolation. Early identification and timely treatment of severe cases are the key to reducing the mortality rate. (Comprehensive Health China, China Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing Daily, Jimu News, etc.)
Focusing on 8 types of chronic diseases included in Beijing’s first batch of municipal-level prescription catalogs
The Beijing Municipal Health Commission and others recently issued a notice to further improve the management and use of long-term prescriptions for outpatient chronic diseases, including 8 types of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease, into the first batch of municipal-level chronic disease catalogs suitable for long-term prescriptions. Patients with eight categories of chronic diseases who meet the criteria can be issued long-term prescriptions for up to 12 weeks.
