Dengue Fever Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention
Dengue fever is the most common mosquito spread disease with around 100 million cases occurring annually. It is found in most tropical and subtropical regions and is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. There is no evidence of person to person transmission and the disease is rarely fatal. Travellers should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites when travelling to high risk areas. See your doctor immediately if you present the typical symptoms of dengue fever.
Symptoms of Dengue Fever
Typical symptoms of dengue fever include:
- fever
- headache
- sore muscles
- nausea
- vomiting
- rash
Treatment for Dengue Fever
The main treatment for dengue fever is to encourage the intake of food and especially fluids. This may be supplemented with intravenous fluids if necessary.
Dengue Fever Vaccine
There is no clinically proven vaccine available for the prevention of dengue fever. It is therefore important that travellers to high risk areas take precautions to prevent infection.
Prevention of Dengue Fever
As there is no vaccine available to prevent dengue fever, people in high risk areas are advised to protect themselves against infection by avoiding mosquito bites. Mosquitos carrying dengue fever typically bite during the day, especially at dawn and dusk. Avoid getting bitten by wearing clothing which protects the skin and by using insect repellents on exposed skin. It is also recommended to remove all potential breeding sites for mosquitos such as still water found in containers, pots, and old tyres.
High Risk Destinations
Dengue fever can be found in any tropical or subtropical area and is most prevalent during the warm and humid seasons. Mosquitos infected with the dengue fever virus can be found in both rural and urban areas including major cities. The highest risk is for travellers visiting South East Asia and Central and South America. In Australia, the risk is mainly confined to northern Queensland including Cairns and Townsville as well as the Torres Strait Islands.
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Hi Faye it took about 2 weeks to be diagnosed, it felt like forever as when you are that sick and they dont know what is wrong with you its quite scary. I had the onset as i was boarding the plane to come home, by the next morning i couldnt even walk to the bathroom. My symptoms were:
-Extremely lethargic, was bed ridden for a week
-Developed red spotty rash after approx 3-4 days
-Severe headaches
-Very ichy, kept me awake for nights on end
-Fever around 40 degrees within the first few days and a second fever about 5 days later.
-Severe back pain / aching
-Pain behind eyes and with eye movement
Once i was given a list of the signs & symptoms for Dengue Fever within about a minute i said to the Doctor this is definitely what i have. Most of the signs are similar to flu like syptoms etc but for me the stand out ones were the red ichy rash and the pain when moving my eyes.
It was the first time ever in my life i thought i was actually going to die. I moved into my parents house while i was sick & i remember lying on the lounge saying to my Mum i think i need to go to hospital now. Its hard to believe that such a small thing like a mosquito can make you that sick. Looking back now & knowing what i know i would probably do a few things differently if i was to ever go back again. Anyway Faye i hope some of this info helps
hi nicole thanx for the imfo mine been going on for nearly 3 years but wont show in blood tests keep relapsing all the time but will pass the imfo on to my g.p i acctually think i have a tropical disease of some sort but symptoms keep pointing to dengue , and i no that feeling of being so sick you think your going to die.i acctually still have days like that thanx heaps
Hi Nicole,
I think you aren’t the third case diagnosed in WA – I was diagnosed last August.
You may be the third case who’s GP has bothered to report to the health department though, my GP didn’t bother to report and wasn’t very helpful with treatment either, just telling me not to take aspirin or nurofen for the muscular and joint pain.
Hi Lizzie
I was diagnosed in early nov 2008 not 2009.
Once my results came through my Dr advised the health department & he was told i was the 3 case reported in WA
I’ve just come back from Bali on Tuesday and as I was leaving had signs of a cold coming on. At home now it’s gone to my chest, very phlemy cough and sore lower back. But that’s all so far. Should I get checked out?
july22 2010. Friends have just returned from Bali and have been confirmed that they have Dengue Fever. One of them has spent 4 days in hospital (2 in Bali and 2 when they arrived back in Australia).
My husband and I have just returned last night and my husband spent 3 days in BIMC in bali with dengue fever. there is so much of it in bali at the moment. He also had the sore eys and red rash. He is feeling good now just a little weak. You can get a special blood test that does confirm Dengue. Travellers need to be aware of the out break at this time of year.
I was diagnosed with Dengue in April. After returning home from Bali, It came on so Quick..High fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, I could not get out of bed.I ended up in fremantle hospital on a drip for 6 days. Other symptoms included really swollen feet face and hands that felt like they were burning, a horrible taste in my mouth, upper stomach pain, nausea..The list goes on. Now 3 months later I am losing hair by the handfull, Im told this can often happen after having dengue…
My girlfriend caught Dengue fever last November while we were in Bali, lucky she’s come out of it and is better. My only concern is that her GP did not request that while she does have the dengue fever that she should use a repelent so that if she is bitten by a mosquito here in WA it wont spread via the mosquito. So please make sure you do use repelent if you do have it… consider others.