Dengue Fever rising in Pacific Rim with Influenza numbers

According to the WHO, Dengue Fever is on the rise in the Pacific Rim, coincident with the influenza outbreak.

From the link provided:

""

Dengue is characterized by a sudden onset of headaches, severe muscle and joint pains and often also a rash. Nausea and vomiting may also ensue. In its initial phases, dengue as well as other febrile illnesses such as typhus and leptospirosis can be confused with influenza.

"""

from source: www.reliefweb.int...

It is possible that some cases of suspected flu are being mistaken for dengue fever, and vice versa.

I wonder if the two are related in terms of epidemiology- and welcome anyone who has thoughts or information on the topic.

Thanks!

reply to post by CultureD


Dengue fever is a devasating invasion into the human body by a parasite.
Have you ever read John Grisham's novel "The Testament"? In that novel, one of the main characters comes down with the fever. Good Read...

Flu possible to be mistaken as Dengue Fever, hummm....in intitial stages...only. You may not recover from the fever...way better off to have the flu. The fever requires intensive medical treatment.

S&F!

You're absolutely right- and I was wondering if there were co-infections going on; mistaken diagnoses; or like the 1918 outbreak, a bacterial or parasitic secondary infection riding on the coattails of influenza.

It's also common for there to be multiple outbreaks during a flu pandemic- opportunistic diseases preying on the weakened immune systems of flu survivors. More than anything I was wondering if the Dengue outbreak is a signal that there are more influenza infections than are being reported- in exponential numbers. Would love to hear if anyone has any info about it, or if it's just one of Nature's events and the tw are unrelated.

That's a great book- I read it a while back- thanks!

reply to post by burntheships


is everything you say based on john grishams novel?? This question is just one of the many wonders of my mind! It works mysteriously and i cant help but question! peace and love

Good catch and question CultureD. S&F

Dengue outbreaks seemed to coincide with H5N1 bird flu a few years back. Dengue and the new flus (H5N1, H1N1) do have similar symptoms.

Many developing communities don't have testing facilities, so dx goes by symptoms only. Because dengue is more familiar - dengue is called. ...and when the patients die, dengue is blamed.

MORE on DENGUE:

Dengue

* Dengue [DEN-ghee] is a flu-like viral disease spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal, complication of dengue.
* Dengue occurs in most tropical areas of the world. Most U.S. cases occur in travelers returning from abroad, but the dengue risk is increasing for persons living along the Texas-Mexico border and in other parts of the southern United States.
* There is no specific treatment for dengue.
* Prevention centers on avoiding mosquito bites in areas where dengue occurs or might occur and eliminating breeding sites.

What is dengue fever? What is dengue hemorrhagic fever?

Dengue fever is a flu-like illness spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal, complication of dengue fever.

What is the infectious agent that causes dengue?

Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are caused by any of the dengue family of viruses. Infection with one virus does not protect a person against infection with another.

URL

...and more...

Dengue hemorrhagic fever

DHF is a more severe form of dengue. It can be fatal if unrecognized and not properly treated. DHF is caused by infection with the same viruses that cause dengue.

Source

SYMPTOMS [Note similarity to H5N1, H1N1 symptoms]

Symptoms of Dengue hemorrhagic fever

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Dengue hemorrhagic fever includes the 10 symptoms listed below:

* Fever
* Headache
* Sore throat
* Abdominal pain
* Vomiting
* Respiratory symptoms
* Cough
* Breathing difficulty
* Bleeding easily
* See also symptoms of dengue

URL

AND oh yeah - can you imagine the results of co-infections with dengue, H5N1 and H1N1? ...the scenario is likely to occur with regularity in regions where H5N1 and dengue are endemic (Indonesia, Viet Nam...)...



]

[edit on 30-5-2009 by soficrow]

Sofi-

You made my point more eloquently than I did- thank you. My concern is the coincidence of infections that initially present with similar symptoms; the presence of H5N1 as well as other flu strains in Thailand, Viet Nam, etc., and the fact that two Americans arrived home from Thailand with completely congested lungs, and died.

so many illnesses are not reported as flu- as flu is not a reportable disease, as Dengue is- and as you said- the two can manifest similarly- at least initially- and if a pt. dies quickly, w/o a post-mortem, Dengue is often a default diagnosis. Again- is it clouding the infection rate of flu, is it secondary to infection, or is it possible to see a very dangerous confluence of microbes?

Thanks so much for your input- as always!

You're welcome CultureD.

FYI - The danger of dengue-flu reassortment are not restricted to Asia. The next wave is expected to come from the Northern Hemisphere, specifically South America. I filed this article a while ago.

Dengue outbreak in Argentina now ‘epidemic’

April 8, 2009

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Health Minister Graciela Ocana said Wednesday that a dengue outbreak in the country has worsened to an epidemic, as nearly 8,000 people are officially reported to be infected with the disease.

"Dengue is here to stay," Ocana said.

...And a CDC virologist I quoted a while ago on the H1N1 second wave stated that Buenes Aires was the place to watch...

Sofi-

Thank you- I think!- for confirming the link between the two outbreaks that I feared in my initial post.

Looks like we have a complex issue of co-infections going on- and with S. Americans goingthrough autumn right now, it will be critical to observe and properly identify these co-infections. I pray for the people in the S. Hemisphere- and I'm sorry that their countries are the petri dishes inwhich theis plays out. I only hope that WHO realizes this complexity in time to intervene with something other than adjuvants and Tamiflu or anti-parasitics!

cheers and thank you for the info

reply to post by CultureD


...and thank YOU for starting this thread.

We definitely need to keep a close eye on dengue and Buenos Aires over the next while. Good call CultureD.

reply to post by Free4Ever2


Hummm not sure about the seriousness of your question...but the answer is obviously no. The novel, while it is fiction has a fairly accurate episode of Dungue fever in one of the main characters. Culture D's post is great...and I was thinking of Soficrow's thread too and how they tie together. www.abovetopsecret.com...

CultureD and all - I hope everyone tries to keep this thread updated re: dengue outbreaks, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. ...Dengue is definitely one of the viruses to watch for merging with H1N1 and H5N1 imo.

Sofi-

Still looking for Dengue updates re: reassortment and vectors. Also, just read that Egypt has a re-emerging H5N1 outbreak occuring the day before the Obama group arrives:

www.who.int...

Speaking of reassortment: H1N1 vaccines are being made hastily and with critically dangerous adjuvants, as well as H5N1 vaccines, according to WHO. Looks like they're expecting a reassortment, even if H1N1 lone becomes more virulent, itself.

Also, Reuters, BBC, etc., are all posting to expect a Level 6 declaration within 10 days- long before vaccines are ready- obviously, this is taking people a bit by surprise, ironically....

If you look at the number of infections, they are rising exponentially in the N.H alone, and deaths in the US are QUICKLY rising. By September we should have a full-scale breakdown of H1N1, alone. God forbid it reassorts with Dengue, H5N1, hemmorhagics, etc.

Will keep posting as I find info. Stay safe

www.who.int...

wwwn.cdc.gov...

"In 2009, several areas of Central and South America have seen rising cases of dengue fever:

Argentina: As of May 19, 2009, the Ministry of Health has reported over 25,000 dengue cases and 5 deaths. The provinces most affected are Catamarca and Chaco.

Bolivia: As of May 20, 2009, over 59,900 suspected cases of dengue have been reported, and 25 deaths from dengue hemorrhagic fever. For additional information, listen to this podcast from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Brazil: Over 226,500 suspected cases of dengue and 87 deaths were reported through April 15, 2009. The state of Bahia has been particularly hard hit, with over 56,000 reported cases.

Mexico: On April 24, 2009 the Secretary of Health for the Mexican state of Sinaloa reported 255 cases of dengue.

Paraguay: As of May 20, 2009, the Ministry of Health has confirmed over 3,000 dengue cases, of which over 1,100 are from the Central department..
Since the beginning of 2009, cases of dengue have been increasing in the Pacific region:

Australia: As of May 5, 2009, Queensland Health reported 993 confirmed cases of dengue fever in the northern part of that state, which is located in northeastern Australia. Additionally, it was reported on March 4, 2009, that an elderly woman in the city of Cairns became the first dengue-associated death from this outbreak.

French Polynesia: As of April 12, 2009, just over 300 cases of dengue have been confirmed on the islands of Tahiti, Tahaa, Bora-Bora, Raiatea, Moorea, Tahaa, and Ua Pou.

Malaysia: As of May 11, 2009, health officials have reported over 19,200 dengue cases and 48 deaths from dengue fever.

In 2009, Saudi Arabia has also been reporting dengue cases in areas popular with travelers, including Jeddah and Mecca.

Dengue is transmitted in regions throughout the tropics and subtropics. Although dengue transmission often occurs in both rural and urban areas, dengue infections are most frequently reported from urban settings. See Dengue Fever from CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Dengue webpage for more information on dengue and updates on worldwide activity."


wwwn.cdc.gov...

azuresky - wow! thank you.

CultureD

Speaking of reassortment: H1N1 vaccines are being made hastily and with critically dangerous adjuvants, as well as H5N1 vaccines, according to WHO. Looks like they're expecting a reassortment, even if H1N1 lone becomes more virulent, itself.

Uh huh. Not good.

10 days you say? Missed that one. Just hate it when you don't give me the links.

CRAP, Soficrow-

I can't find the BBC article in which Dr. John Oxford stated that we should see a Level 6, full-blown Pandemic within 10 days- it was linked to a WHO site, via Reuters and the AP, and it has apparently been removed from the BBC site- it won't pull up in my folder. I'm so sorry. It might be on another thread where I posted- I'll look. I hate giving data without sources- forgive me- it was an oversight and now I can't find the bugger....

CNN actually printed this- shocking-

www.cnn.com...
stating that WHO is closer to level 6. Oxford claimed that the UK will have a full outbreak before autumn, and before the vaccine(s) are ready for use.

BTW- and this is interesting for a plague researcher- a young boy has contracted bubonic plague in NewMexico and his sister is ill, as well. This on WGN news Chicago as I type-
I know Y. pestis is endemic in the states after the 1903 outbreak in San Francisco- it moved to rats, mice, prarie dogs, etc., in the wild, and 10 or so people each year catch it here from squirrels, etc. It is interesting, though, that it's appearing right now. Obviously the world is past her limits, and is throwing every diesease possible at us. I don't know that there's a connection- earthcquakes generally cause rodent movement- and there have been a numbe in Mexico and southern California recently- but like all other mini-outbreaks, if you will, it certainly is a canary in the mine, epidemically-speaking.

Had our 5th confirmed death in Illinois today from H1N1- I wonder how many have really died- are truly dying from it, world-wide. The numbers are growing exponentially in a warm, humid June- the opposite of flu-friendly weather. We also have the worst traffic in the country (outside of LA) and it has been eerily quiet the past two weeks, both in the suburbs and in Chicago. It's usually a 1.5-2.5 hour drive to make the 31 mile trip from us to Chicago. Lately it's been about 45 minutes. Either people are ill and home or hospitalized, or they're staying home.

If I find that damned article I'll post it. In the interim, keep in touch- China seems to have hundreds dead-quickly- and I wonder if there's less of a viral reassortment than a prion-viral reassortment happening there.
As well, many who are dying in the US have gone from 2 week hospitalizations to 1-3 day illness followed by total pulmonary and cardiac failure. Just like 1918. I think the vaccine makers, who are struggling to make the "right one" are finding new virulence factors, already, and don't know what to do.

Thoughts on all of this? I'll find that link-

Well, it looks like Chan at WHO has reversed her decision to declare level 6 within 10 days:

www.google.com...

Still digging for the initial article!

Edit to include a blog post from Daily Kos (cum grano...) about the "10 day" window for Pandemic Declaration:

www.dailykos.com...

[edit on 5-6-2009 by CultureD]

I had the dengue when I was 15 in Puertorico where is very common and I had the Flu also in the US at least two times since been here in a period of 26 years.

They are different, if you have one and then the other one you will know the difference.

Dengue turns your muscles into gelatin my father had to carry me to the car when he took me to the doctor that's how bad I got it.

The flu attacks the lungs I ended up with bronchitis on the second time I had the flu.

I think that people that never had the flu will think that the dengue symptoms are the flu and not vice versa.

BTW in the 90s a new mutation of dengue came about in Puertorrico it was call Hemorrhagic dengue My mother was unfortunately enough to get it and was quarantine for 30 days in the hospital.

[edit on 5-6-2009 by marg6043]

Marg- I'm so sorry you had Dengue- from everything I've learned of it, it's horrific- I'm so glad you're with us!

A note to my prior post (again)- seems the WHO is convening an emergency session, but the details given in the Reuters article point towards the usual inertia- "proof of sustained community transmission"- which exists!; and "proof of lethality, not just contagion". So, it seems WHO is working on complete denial while people are dropping like flies.

We have exponential growth in the US of both infections and deaths; a nurse caught it from her patients in bothcanada and Scotland (off-topic, I know- it's on a different thread)- but until there's a vaccine to sell, looks like we're going to sit and count deaths until September:
www.reuters.com...

I am by no means an expert, But Dengue and swine flu are seperated by temperature.

I live in an area which has had its worst outbreak od Dengue for years, over 1,000 people infected in a population of 120,000 people, we also have 7 swine flu cases currently.

Dengue is spread by a mosquito which is far more active during the summer months and as we enter our winter period the numbers of dengue sufferers are dropping and the numbers of swine flu are on the rise.

Just thought I would point that out.