Dengue virus makes you really sick and may even kill you. If you are curious about what it’s like to have this illness, just ask anyone who has lived in the tropics. My brother, who had Dengue twice while living in Vietnam, told me: “I was so sick and it’s a weird kind of sick. I was freezing cold, lying in bed covered in sweat for two days, despite the fact that it was 95 degrees outside.”
The news these days suggests we’d better get more familiar with Dengue, also known as “break-bone fever.” In Florida, an outbreak has been detected, the first since 1934. Dengue outbreaks occurred with some regularity in the 1800s and early 20th century in the Southeast, but with improved mosquito control programs and changed socio-economic conditions (e.g. more spread out cities, increased access to air conditioning and window screens) incidents diminished by the 1950s. Since August 2009, however, there have been 28 verified cases of locally acquired Dengue, and blood tests suggest that about five percent of the Key West population has been infected. Currently there is no vaccine or drugs for treatment, although efforts are underway to create a vaccine.
Dengue’s resurgence in the US does not come as a surprise to health experts, as Greenwire/The New York Times reported on June 30th. The risk of Dengue fever is growing because of three upward trends: urbanization, increased travel, and climate change.
Spreading Risk of Dengue Fever in North America from Climate Central on Vimeo.
This animation shows the projected range expansion of Aedes aegypti in North America under changing climate conditions. The areas in red show population centers where outbreaks are most likely. Yellow shows areas at risk for transmission.
For the full story visit http://www.climatecentral.org/breaking/blog/the_climate_connection_to_dengue_fever
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One of my observation nowadays like in my native place Bacolod I used to observed swamps & canals on my younger days (70s) there used to be plenty of mosquito fish & other local fresh water fish. I believe partly they feed by larvae of mosquitoes but right now they cant be seen in our canals, swamp and watery areas. Outbreak partly contributed by damage of our environment ecosystem in which mosquitoes breeding right now are uncontrollable. Even our local common lizard on ceilings cannot be seen anymore they used to eat insects before.
Smalls living thing sometimes contributes to our wellness and ecosystem. I would suggest on dengue control people to used natural method, restoring this environment. Modern technology sometimes forgot the basic ecosystem.