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Dengue fever


Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease. Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes and is widespread throughout the tropics, with local variations in risk influenced by rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and unplanned rapid urbanization.


Read the article below and identify the statements as True, False or Not Given.

As always. check feedback on your incorrect answers. Learn from you mistakes!

  1. In 2020, there have been more deaths from dengue than COVID-19.

  2. Severe dengue often occurs following DENV infection.

  3. Severe dengue can be cured if it is identified early.

  4. Cases of dengue have risen worldwide to over 100 million a year.

  5. Sagaing region had significantly higher infection rates than Mon state.

  6. There were over 24,000 cases of dengue infections in Myanmar in 2019.

 

Like COVID-19, dengue is a viral infection and it is proving to be more fatal in Myanmar than COVID-19 in 2020. Myanmar’s Health and Sports Ministry has now issued an alert for high mortality risk of dengue fever infections. According to the Ministry’s figures, Myanmar has reported 2,862 dengue fever infection cases so far in 2020, with 20 deaths as of June 27.


The virus responsible for causing dengue, is called dengue virus (DENV). There are four DENV serotypes, meaning that it is possible to be infected four times. While many DENV infections produce only mild illness, DENV can cause an acute flu-like illness. Occasionally this develops into a potentially lethal complication, called severe dengue.


Severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries. It requires management by medical professionals however there is no specific treatment for severe dengue. Early detection of the symptoms of severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1%.


The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. About half of the world's population is now at risk. There are an estimated 100-400 million infections each year and infections mostly occur in urban and semi-urban areas and in the months of the rainy season.

In Myanmar, twenty cities across the country saw the highest infection rates with 1,069 cases and 12 deaths. Regionally, Sagaing region registered the most infection cases of the mosquito-borne disease, followed by Mandalay region and Mon state, respectively.


The Health and Sports Ministry said preventive measures have been carried out against common monsoon diseases, including vector-borne ones since early April. Last year, Myanmar reported 24,345 dengue fever infection cases with at least 100 deaths.


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