What is it?
Dengue is an infectious disease caused by a virus. Dengue is also known as breakbone fever, a name derived from the often characteristic joint pains. The virus occurs in urban areas in many tropical countries.
Symptoms include:
- fever
- headache
- muscle pain
- skin rash (may develop after a few days)
- bleeding (rare)
How do you catch it?
Anyone who is in an area where dengue occurs can catch the disease. The virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito, such as the yellow fever mosquito or the Asian tiger mosquito. The disease is not transmitted directly from person to person. The mosquitoes that spread dengue bite during the day. The incubation period is usually between 4 and 7 days after a bite from a mosquito infected with dengue.
How do you prevent it?
You can reduce the risk of dengue infection by lowering your chances of being bitten by a mosquito. You can do this by wearing clothing that covers the skin, using mosquito nets and applying mosquito repellent, at least during the daytime, when the mosquitoes that spread dengue are active. There is no vaccine against dengue.
Besides the conditions at your destination, your personal circumstances and travel plans are decisive factors in the preparations you may need to make — or are required to make — before you travel. You are welcome to come to us for expert travel health advice.
The above description is only a general, concise and simplified overview and is intended for information purposes only. No rights can be derived from it. Personal advice is given exclusively during a consultation with a specially trained Certified Travel Health Physician or Travel Health Assistant.