There are more and more cases of Dengue fever in Italy, but what catches the eye are those transmitted locally. What does it mean? They are called “native cases” and indicate transmission which occurred directly in our territory. There Dengue fever, as well as other tropical diseases, should arrive in Italy and not be favored by our climate. Unfortunately the climate crisis leads to a increase in temperatures and to their tropicalization (more humid environments). It is no coincidence that we also speak of the “globalization of diseases”.
However, there is no need to be alarmed, explains Marino Faccini, director of the Department of Hygiene and Health Prevention of the ATS Milan Metropolitan City. In fact, the people affected by Dengue fever have all recovered or are improving.
However, this does not mean pretending that there isn’t one greater risk of contagion in Italian environments, so much so that the expert always invites us to be aware that we have a tropical infection at home and that we need to protect ourselves in situations where there is a risk of being bitten or causing an outbreak to develop.
What does it mean that the cases are indigenous?
The tiger mosquito is in a favorable environment, that is, the “tail” of the summer heat that has crept into autumn. In some Italian regions, more than others, this favors the active circulation of the mosquito and therefore also of cases of Native Dengue fever. Emanuele Nicastri, director of the Division of high-intensity infectious diseases of the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome, explains the reasons.
One up today three of the Italian cases of Dengue it is indigenous and comes from the regions involved (Lazio and Lombardy). Regarding the future of circulation, it is good to know that Dengue cases will end when the circulation period of the tiger mosquito ends. “We can hypothesize that this will happen, if temperatures drop, in the first weeks of November. However, this is an estimate, because everything depends on the climate,” explained Nicastri.
The disease is not worrying and the contagion window should soon close again. It is also true that the summer season has now expanded in May and continues until September-October, increasing the possibility of contagion from similar viruses.
How does contagion happen?
The Dengue fever it is a viral disease that can be caused by four different viruses, each of which is transmitted via one Tiger mosquito. For contagion it is therefore necessary for a mosquito to bite a person and for transmission the intermediate passage of a vector is always needed.
The mode of diffusion Dengue therefore does not represent a serious risk, at least for Italians. Even if i indigenous cases indicate, without alarmism, that we need to start taking into consideration the risk of contagion.
What are the symptoms?
The Den-1, Den-2, Den-3, and Den-4 viruses cause what has become known as Dengue fever. The disease, which results in a fever lasting 5-6 days from the moment of the mosquito bite, reaches very high temperatures. Fever is accompanied by a number of others symptomscome:
headache pain around and behind the eyes muscle and joint pain nausea and vomiting skin irritation
At the moment There is no specific treatment for Dengue. In fact, as Epicentro writes, in most cases people recover completely in two weeks. However, supportive care such as absolute rest and medications to reduce fever can be applied.
Attention: there are also more serious cases, such as when it presents in a haemorrhagic form, the procedure is followed in hospital to avoid collapse and, in rare cases, death.
How to defend yourself?
Various vaccines are being studied, but until they are put on the market it is good to know how to defend yourself from the infection. The most effective prevention is avoid mosquito bites. To prevent Dengue fever, some precautions were needed against the insect vectors of the virus.
Between advice to prevent mosquito bites we find:
wear light-colored clothing that covers most of the body; night-time protection from mosquitoes, such as a mosquito net around the bed; use of skin repellents; use of insecticides in homes; install mosquito nets on doors and windows; avoid outdoor activities in the late afternoon.
2023-10-25 18:48:00
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