Dengue still a concern in Singapore – here's what to do if you contract it
High fever, severe headache, nausea and skin rash are common symptoms of dengue fever, the mosquito-borne viral disease that has seen a spate of infections in Singapore recently, and caused three deaths in a high-risk dengue cluster in Jurong West.
Dengue fever symptoms, which usually begin four to seven days after you are bitten by an infected Aedes mosquito, also include:
Body ache
Joint/muscle pain
Lethargy
Loss of appetite
Retro-orbital pain (pain behind the eyes)
Abdominal pain
Often, the symptoms of dengue fever are mild and you are likely to recover within a week. However, in some cases, your condition may worsen because of complications and severe dengue, which can manifest as dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome, may develop.
Severe dengue, a health emergency which requires immediate hospitalisation, can cause organ damage and be fatal.
Severe dengue patients may experience symptoms such as bleeding from the gums and nose, bleeding under the skin and blood in the urine and stools because of damaged blood vessels and a drastic fall in clot-forming platelets. Patients may also have symptoms such as:
Persistent vomiting
Severe abdominal pain
Difficulty breathing
Altered mental state
Dengue fever can be caused by any one of four different strains or serotypes of the dengue virus, known as DEN 1, 2, 3, 4. After you’ve recovered from dengue fever, you have immunity to the serotype that caused your infection, but not to the others. This means that you can get infected with the dengue virus again, and your risk of developing severe dengue increases with each subsequent infection. Elderly patients with a weakened immune system have a higher risk of severe dengue.
Diagnosis and treatment of dengue fever
Dengue fever can be hard to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to those of other viral conditions. A blood test can confirm the diagnosis.
There is no specific treatment for dengue fever and your doctor is likely to prescribe painkillers and fever medication to manage your symptoms, and recommend that you drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
For severe dengue, patients may be provided blood and platelet transfusions as part of their treatment in hospital. If these patients receive timely treatment, they can make a full recovery.
Since the eradication of mosquito breeding habitats is the key to dengue prevention, the National Environment Agency has asked all Singapore residents to work together to “suppress the Aedes mosquito population and keep dengue cases in check”.
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