Dengue Fever Prevention

     The most effective means of prevention are protection against contact with the disease-carrying mosquitoes and mosquito control. These include using insect repellents with substances like DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide; also known as N,N'-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide or NNDB), icaridin (also known as picaridin and KBR3023), PMD (p-menthane-3,8-diol, a substance derived from the lemon eucalyptus tree), or IR3535. Wearing bite-proof long sleeves and trousers (pants) also offers protection. In addition, garments can be treated with pyrethroids, a class of insecticides that often has repellent properties. Vaporized pyrethroids (for example in mosquito coils) are also insect repellents. Securing screens on windows and doors will help to keep mosquitoes out of the house. In the case of the day-active Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, however, this will have only a limited effect, since many contacts between the vector and the host occur outside.

Treatment of DF and DHF

 Febrile Phase

In the early febrile phase, it is not possible to distinguish DF from DHF. Their treatments during the febrile phase are the same, i.e. symptomatic and supportive:

Ø Rest.

Ø Paracetamol (not more than 4 times in 24 hours) according to age for fever above 390C.

Ø Do not give Aspirin or Brufen. Aspirin can cause gastritis and/or bleeding. In children, Reye’s syndrome (encephalopathy) may be a serious complication.

Ø Do not give antibiotics as these do not help.

Ø Oral rehydration therapy is recommended for patients with  moderate dehydration caused by vomiting and high temperature.

Ø Food should be given according to appetite.

 

All dengue infected people must be carefully observed for complications for at least 2 days after recovery from fever. This is because life threatening complications often occur during this phase.

Patients and households should be informed that severe abdominal pain, passage of black stools, bleeding into the skin or from the nose or gums, sweating, and cold skin are danger signs.  If any of these signs is noticed, the patient should be taken to the hospital. . The person who does not have any evidence of complications and who has been afebrile for 2-3 days does not need further observation