Dengue is a significant public health issue with many clinical manifestations. Dengue is divided into three categories by the World Health Organisation: probable dengue, severe dengue, and dengue with warning signals. If not promptly treated, severe dengue can result in considerable morbidity and fatality due to plasma leakage, severe bleeding, or organ damage. There are no proven cures for dengue; instead, supportive care is provided.
The cornerstone of care is prudent fluid resuscitation during the critical stage of dengue. Initially, crystalloids were the preferred fluids. It is not advised to transfuse platelets as a preventive measure. In severe dengue cases, organ involvement should be closely monitored and treated.
Secondary hemophagocytic lymph histiocytosis is a potentially fatal dengue complication that has to be identified since it may benefit from targeted treatment with steroids or intravenous immunoglobulin. Several substances with anti-dengue potential are being researched; no anti-dengue medication is on the market.
The Washington Post Reported That Peru is taking unusual steps to combat its biggest dengue outbreak on record, including forbidding households from filling vases with water. This problem has been linked by experts to rising temperatures and increasing rains brought on by climate change.
The National Centre for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases in the South American nation has reported more than 110,000 probable dengue cases this year. 114 people have died after contracting the virus, while 39 more deaths are unsolved.
The outbreak serves as a warning for tropical nations where dengue and other insect-borne diseases are becoming more common due to a rapidly changing climate that is bringing warmer and humid days, which are perfect mosquito breeding grounds.
At its worst, dengue can result in severe organ failure, high fevers, and even death. The World Health Organisation, which deemed dengue a “major public health problem” for the Americas area in March, estimates that reported cases grew approximately tenfold from 500,000 in 2000 to 5.2 million in 2019.
The most recent wave occurred when March saw record-breaking rains in Peru’s north. “In terms of climatic change, certainly increased precipitation, higher temperatures, and higher humidity all favor the mosquito,” Raman Velayudhan, who oversees the WHO’s program on Neglected Tropical Diseases, said during a news conference in April.
The onset of the El Nio weather pattern, a recurring phenomenon that starts with warm water forming off the Pacific coast of South America and a lessening of trade winds that drive the water to migrate towards the continent, has aggravated the outbreak. This warming usually happens every three to five years before the La Nia phenomenon, characterized by cooler ocean temperatures and stronger winds.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, climate change has increased rainfall expected during El Nio in Peru because more water evaporates into the air from a warmer ocean and may fall all at once when it reaches land instead of less rain falling over a more extended, steadier period.
An investigation conducted by public health experts from the United States and Peru last year and published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases found a “strong” correlation between dengue fever epidemics, warmer weather, and the El Nio Southern Oscillation in Peru.
According to the authors, “climate change is expected to increase the frequency of El Nio events,” and “anthropogenic factors, including climate change, are largely to blame for the substantial increase in dengue fever cases over the past four decades.”
Additionally, Peru forbade the storage of still water in open containers and hurriedly opened a field hospital in one of the worst-affected areas. Additionally, locals have been instructed to visit clinics rather than attempt to treat suspected dengue patients at home.
An investigation conducted by public health experts from the United States and Peru last year and published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases found a “strong” correlation between dengue fever epidemics, warmer weather, and the El Nio Southern Oscillation in Peru.
According to the authors, “climate change is expected to increase the frequency of El Nio events,” and “anthropogenic factors, including climate change, are largely to blame for the substantial increase in dengue fever cases over the past four decades.”
Additionally, Peru forbade the storage of still water in open containers and hurriedly opened a field hospital in one of the worst-affected areas. Additionally, locals have been instructed to visit clinics rather than attempt to treat suspected dengue patients at home.
According to Jason Mackenzie, a professor of virology at the Doherty Institute of the University of Melbourne, there is a direct correlation between rising rainfall and epidemics of diseases spread by mosquitoes. He said more rain causes more water to accumulate, encouraging more mosquitoes to lay eggs.
