Wednesday, January 16, 2013
And you thought the flu was bad
According to the World Health Organization, dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is on the rise worldwide and may become an epidemic.
“In 2012, dengue ranked as the fastest spreading vector-borne viral disease, with an epidemic potential in the world, registering a 30-fold increase in disease incidence over the past 50 years,” the Geneva-based UN agency said in a report released Wednesday.On the good news side, they have almost eradicated guinea worm. But you should still be careful about drinking the water.
The increased transmission rate of the deadly mosquito-borne disease was due to climate change and a greater movement of people, the agency said.
An annual two million cases of dengue fever were reported over the last two years by 100 countries, with between 5,000 to 6,000 of them resulting in death.
But the WHO’s Raman Velayudhan said the disease was likely underreported and estimated there were as many as 50 million cases a year with more than 20,000 deaths.
Dengue is spread by one of four viruses transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It causes high fever, headaches, itching and joint pains. At an advanced stage it can lead to haemorrhaging and death.
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