Dengue

Dengue is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus and transmitted by the bite of the Aedes mosquito, also known as break bone fever and bone-crusher disease. Dengue fever is a severe, flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults but rarely causes death.

The symptoms, following an incubation period of five to eight days, are fever, chills, and severe headache, pain in the joints, sweating, and prostration. The clinical features vary according to the age of the patient.

Infants and young children may have a feverish illness with rash. Older children and adults may have either a mild feverish illness, or the classical incapacitating disease with abrupt onset and high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains and rash.

Dengue hemorrhagic is a potentially lethal complication and is today a leading cause of childhood death in several Asian countries. It is characterized by high fever, haemorrhage, often enlargement of the liver, and in the most severe cases circulatory failure.

Today, dengue is found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, predominately in urban and per urban areas, where Aedes mosquitoes are prevalent. Globally there are an estimated 50-100 million cases of dengue fever each year.

Click here to learn for more information about waterborne diseases, dimension of the problem, transmission, prevention.

Sources:
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/dengue/en/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue
Picture:
http://images.google.com/images?q=dengue&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-12,GGLD:en&start=100&sa=N