Dengue fever cases set off alarms

1.    Ackerman, Todd. (2013, October 10).  Dengue fever cases set off alarms:  Potentially lethal disease carried by mosquitoes re-emerges here.  Houston Chronicle, A1/A13.

2.    Category of problem:  Health

3.    Level of problem:  Local level

4.    The article concerns:  Dengue fever, a virulent tropical disease thought to be eradicated from the United States in the 1950’s, has re-emerged in Houston.

5.    Why is this important to families / individuals OR how does it affect individuals / families?

a.    Dengue fever can cause severe disease and death, and Houston appears to be at risk for an outbreak, according to sources.  People in the Houston area are already wary of another mosquito-borne disease – the West Nile virus.  Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment for the disease.

6.    What are your views on the issue / policy?

a.    When I think of dengue or West Nile viruses, I usually don’t think of Houston or even the United States.  To me, those are more tropical diseases that happen in third-world countries, not in a country like ours where many of the diseases of my grandparents have been eliminated.  But, the reports coming out about dengue fever are very alarming.  Dengue is characterized by severe headaches, fever, vomiting, hemorrhaging and rash, and, in more stark cases, death.  Children, especially infants, are the most susceptible.  From talking to some older people, there was an insecticide called DDT that pretty much eliminated the mosquitos carrying the disease in the 1950’s and 1960’s, but, apparently, the harmful side-effects of the repellent far outweighed the positives of getting rid of the mosquitos.  And, just like many other diseases not common to America, research into another method of mosquito extermination, vaccine prevention or medical cure for the disease is low on the priority list.  What is just as scary is that 40 years ago, the disease was pretty much isolated in the countries of the Far East and South America / Mexico.  But, with the world becoming a more global community with easy travel from place to place, the possibility of a dengue carrying insect hitching a ride to other locales is very real.  Today, there over 100 countries spread across the globe that have seen occurrences of the disease – spreading very much like the AIDS virus from Africa in the 1980’s.  I don’t see how mosquitos can be totally eliminated to extinction – they are such resilient creatures – but, maybe, worldwide disease researchers can combine their efforts to, at least, come up with a vaccine or treatment for these troublesome malaises.