Dengue Confirmed

With the rains and murky weather, we’ve had a mosquito population boom. On our street alone, in order, Sarah (2nd), Tim (5th), Adam (5th), Joan (2nd), Leslie (5th), Mary (5th), and now Beth (3rd) have fallen ill. Blood samples were sent to Trinidad, with the results taking 6-8 weeks.

Fortunately, it seems that the hemorrhagic strain isn’t afflicting anyone. Mainly fever, enteritis, headache, joint pain and flu like symptoms (which is so ambiguous).

Dengue Fever is caused by a positive sense single stranded RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus. Flavi (plural), flavus (singular), comes from the Latin word for “yellow.” The most well know diseases caused by viruses in this family are Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Hepatitis C, and West Nile. Mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, usually Aedes aegypti, transmit dengue. Aedes aegypti is distingusihed by its black and white striped legs and the white lyre shape on the hump of its thorax.

















These, and smaller brown mosquitos, have filled my apartment. BOP doesn’t phase them, and I’m covered in DEET (OFF), so I’ve started to burn mosquito coils almost constantly. Inhaling these chemicals is taking a toll on my nose and throat, but at least I’m not sick! (Yet.) Those that have gotten sick have been out of commission for 3 weeks, with one of them potentially repeating the semester due to a missed exam.

The good news is that it’s not Yellow Fever or Malaria! Yellow Fever is often fatal. Malaria, caused by a a protozoa called Plasmodium, and can be very restant to drugs. Both of these diseases are thought to be in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, I’ve been looking at where to move for clinics. One very beautiful state has been having deadly outbreaks of a a Rickettsial dease called Potomac Horse Fever. Horses become ill by drinking water from rivers or streams that contain the bacteria, Neorickettsia risticii, within snails, flukes, and fly larvae. Goes to show that not even the USA is disease free, which is good because that means I’ll have a job when I graduate!

More exciting, the UK has had an outbreak of pulmonary anthrax from animal hides. Anthrax spores can live 75+ years and prefer alkaline soil. China has had another incident with melamine contaminating animal feed, but I don’t think it’s hit the news yet. A novel strain of Bluetongue has been found in the middle of Europe (Switzerland). A disease from warthogs is killing pigs in Russia. And the unknown Ebola-like disease causing healthy people to die in Zambia and South Africa has been diagnosed as “a unique Old World arenavirus” (ProMED mail). How fun.

Okay, now back to my laudry…