By: Daniel Nardini

Puerto Rico has declared a dengue fever epidemic this month. So far, there have been 4816 cases, including 21 cases of the fatal strand of the hemorrhagic dengue. Six people have died, and the disease is still spreading. Every year, from September to January, dengue fever has proven to be a problem. There is no preventative vaccine, and certainly no cure. Transmitted by a mosquito, the symptoms include very low blood pressure, a high fever, a rash covering the back, and severe joint and muscle pain. While many do eventually recover from the disease, sadly a few will die. The people who are most vulnerable to the fatal part of the disease are children and seniors. The only way to prevent dengue fever is to either destroy the places where mosquitoes breed, or use insecticide sprays (especially with DEET) on your body to deter mosquitoes.

Sadly, even in this day of age, where science seems to have answers for so many diseases and viruses, there are certain diseases we still cannot cure or even truly prevent. Dengue fever is among them. Every year, as many as 50 to 100 million people around the world are infected by dengue fever. In fact, dengue fever has actually increased its spread across the world since World War II, and is now found in 110 countries. It is similar to the disease Yellow fever. However, there is a vaccine for Yellow fever, but still none for dengue fever. A good part of the reason why there is no vaccine for dengue is because many governments, especially in the First World, have not given priority to trying to check this disease. Almost all cases of dengue fever occur in developing countries. Most of these countries have no real facilities to be able to find a cure or preventative for dengue fever. Until we find a medical means to prevent dengue fever, we will have to be careful where we travel and take what precautions we can not to be infected.