Dengue Prevention: The Main Prevention Measures
What are the primary prevention measures against dengue and tips to avoid mosquitoes’ proliferation in the home?
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), dengue is a disease caused by a mosquito’s bite belonging to the genus “Aedes,” a vector of a virus of the flavivirus family. Those who carry it are humans, and mosquitoes are the ones who cause transmission and contagion.
Age or gender does not matter: everyone can be infected and suffer from the disease. In recent decades there has been an alarming increase in cases: 390 million infections per year. Some 96 million people are asymptomatic, but they are also carriers of the virus.
Particularly in Argentina, dengue prevention should be a central topic on the health agenda. The southern cone is one of the most favorable places for the development of the disease. Central America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent also round out the list.
The Causes Of Dengue
The female mosquitoes are those that produce bites and spread the dengue virus (DENV). The species’ technical name is Aedes aegypti, although it is also distributed to a lesser extent by Aedes albopictus.
Other Diseases Transmitted By These Mosquitoes Are:
- Chikungunya fever
- Zika virus infection
- Yellow fever
The main form of infection is through mosquito bites, although some cases related to sexual transmission have been detected.
In conclusion: the primary prevention lies in avoiding contact with this species and protecting the body and skin from its bites.
A Set Of Preventive Measures Against Dengue
It would help if you did not lose sight that the most important thing is to avoid mosquitoes’ accumulation and protect the skin from bites. Therefore, fighting vector mosquitoes is a strong suggestion by the WHO.
A list of preventive measures against dengue is:
- Tidy up the home and the outdoor environment to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs (they usually do so in lids, jars, accumulated plastics, etc.)
- Eliminate solid pet waste in the yard and possible artificial habitats.
- In the areas most frequented by transmitting mosquitoes, it is essential to use mosquito screens on the windows and dress in long-sleeved clothing.
- Weekly clean and empty all containers that store water for domestic use, such as jugs from which pets drink. Specific insecticides are very useful to apply at the base of the tanks that conserve water in the open. On this point, it corresponds to receive professional advice to avoid toxic or dangerous substances.
- Carry out biological fumigation on products that attract mosquitoes such as wood and tires and in stagnant areas.
According to WHO estimates, this disease and its prevention measures must be taken very seriously: some 500,000 people a year are hospitalized worldwide for dengue. Also, the fatality scales to 2.5% of cases.
At the moment, there is no cure for dengue that exceeds the effectiveness of dengue prevention to preserve people’s health.
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