Image courtesy of the IFRC
Image courtesy of the IFRC
The campaign confirmed that dengue is the fastest growing vector-borne disease today. 50 years ago it was only found in nine countries; today it can be found in 100. Already over 40 percent of the world’s population is at risk. 
Image courtesy of the IFRC
Image courtesy of the IFRC
Volunteers reaching out to locals. Image courtesy of the IFRC
We are excited that Break Dengue was recognized at the 6th Annual Shorty Industry Awards in New York!
Winning the award for Best Use of Social Media for Healthcare is only the beginning. We hope, through our continuous collaboration with individuals, organizations, and experts, that Break Dengue will grow even more and that concrete actions will take place in different regions to combat this neglected tropical disease.
Manu Toigo knows that celebrity status is no protector against dengue fever or the diseases spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Dengue and other vector-borne diseases do not pick their victims. Present in so many parts of the world, these diseases are among the greatest contributors to human mortality. As today marks World Health Day and the World Health Organization focuses on how such a small bite can be a big threat, We want to share with you just how debilitating dengue can be.
Read why communities are key to dengue vaccine effectiveness
Special operations and survival training came in handy when Manu Toigo joined Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid. In the Panamanian Jungle she dealt with a lot of things, but nothing could have prepared her for the effects of dengue. Click below to hear her story.
http://cowbird.com/story/90676/
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Join Dengue Track and boost the effort to map dengue fever.
One of the problems with dengue is that in the early stages, it’s easy to confuse its symptoms with those of other illnesses. High temperatures, headaches, a loss of appetite, or a sore throat might make a sufferer think that they have the flu, and it is not until the fever begins that the more serious symptoms can kick in. That’s when patients need medical attention, and fast.
The successful treatment of dengue hinges on quick diagnosis. Now researchers from the University of Hawaii have found that an existing dengue test works much quicker than standard tests. It’s a breakthrough in dengue detection.
The test searches for anti-dengue virus IgM antibodies, produced a few days after the beginning of dengue fever. This approach can cut diagnosis time to less than five hours. (In-house tests searching for similar antibodies traditionally take two to three days.) InBios, the manufacturer, received FDA approval for its dengue test back in 2011.
But while a faster test is a positive development, it only represents one part of the dengue problem. There are other issues – social, environmental, and economic – that need longer than five hours to get fixed.
Sarawak, Malaysia had a distinct dengue outbreak in 2007
Research published in mid-2013 shows that there could be five, not four, dengue serotypes. A dengue outbreak in Malaysia’s Sarawak province in 2007 was genetically distinct from the other four serotypes, according to research conducted by Nikos Vasilakis from the University of Texas. While this fifth serotype has only been linked to humans in this part of Malaysia, it is still significant, as it makes the first new dengue virus in 50 years. At the Third International Conference on Dengue and Dengue Fever, held in Bangkok in October 2013, Vasilakis claimed that while this fifth dengue serotype has not been identified outside of this Malaysian region, he suspects that it is present among macaques. It’s too early to tell whether or not this is an isolated outbreak, or whether the fifth serotype is present elsewhere.
Macaques are among the 10 Monkey species in Malaysia
This discovery adds a new challenge to the development of a dengue vaccine. Results from clinical trials showed that the vaccine proved effective in some dengue serotypes, but not all. And this is something that researchers, such as these academics, have attempted to explain. A fifth serotype means that – if transmitted – there could be a need for a specialized vaccine. It also means that we can’t sit still in our efforts to break dengue and that these developments intensify the need for global action against dengue fever.
Old or young, there’s plenty people can do to help stop the spread of dengue. But for a prevention campaign to be really effective, people need to have a full understanding of what to do, and why.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency put together a cartoon to tell children about dengue in a language they understand, which lets them know what they can do to stop it from spreading. The result is not only entertaining but informative too.
From its inception, Break Dengue has been supported by an outstanding community that shares our goal of wiping out dengue fever, together. At Break Dengue, we think big and that means using technology to link stakeholders, enabling actors of the fight against dengue to share ideas, offer funding and support, and ask for help.
We will continue to create an open platform, one where researchers, patients and their relatives, journalists, and anyone else can share their views. As we roll out ideas, data, and findings, all participants will be able to track our progress from the outset, having a window to our progress and setbacks as we combat the suffering caused by #Dengue.
None of this is possible without you. Break Dengue is proud to be part of such an outstanding community. We thank you all for your support!
To many of us, dengue seems like a distant disease, something that affects other people, in other places. But that’s not true.
We travel more than we ever have before. Whether we’re sent across the globe for business or we jump on a plane in search of some winter sunshine, the world has become a much smaller place.
Dengue is present in over 100 countries. And as long-distance travel becomes easier, it also becomes easier for tourists to bring an unwanted souvenir home with them: a dengue infection.
Research in Australia has found that the number of dengue patients who catch the pokies online disease when abroad is escalating. In 2005-2006, infections of dengue acquired overseas stood at 156; by 2009-2010 this figure had climbed to 581. The researchers expected that 2012 would see the largest number on record of cases of dengue acquired overseas. Imported cases of dengue – of all four serotypes – represented 23% of all cases between 1991 and 1999; by 2000-2012, this figure reached 64%.
And it’s not just in Australia. In the UK, Public Health England has called for travelers to take extra care when abroad. It reported that imported cases of dengue in 2012 were up more than 50% on 2011. What’s more, cases reported in the first four months of 2013 are three times as many as in the same period in 2012.
These figures are a reminder that dengue is a global disease and demands a global response.
Epidemiologists know about the importance of mapping a disease to understand it better. And when it comes to a disease like dengue – that’s spreading, expanding, and evolving – mapping really helps people understand what’s changing. More importantly, it helps experts forecast what dengue is likely to do next, and where.
Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, is one tool that epidemiologists are working with to map dengue and understand its movements. GIS combines mapping techniques with statistics to find trends in places that have previously suffered from dengue epidemics, and to work out where else could be at risk.
One study in an area just outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, put together information about topographical factors, population density, temperature, and land use. Combining these data, researchers were better equipped to pinpoint which parts of the suburb were especially vulnerable to dengue outbreaks. More recently, Malaysia’s government launched its iDengue platform, which uses GIS. It informs the public, and also aims to help the government mobilize its efforts against dengue in remote areas.
Click to learn more about Dengue Track
Another study in Taiwan used GIS to help determine the best locations for insecticide spraying in an attempt to prevent the spread of dengue. Although the project is limited in scope, the researchers believe that GIS can help contribute to a more cost-effective dengue prevention strategy. Taiwan’s authorities have evidently paid attention to this research: in early 2013, the Center for Disease Control announced it would add GIS to its existing disease management system.
Elsewhere, researchers in the Philippines discovered in 2011 that the use of GIS could help work out which habitats dengue-carrying mosquitoes prefer. This knowledge makes it easier to predict dengue’s movements, which helps authorities make the best use of their funds for dengue prevention campaigns.
Knowing dengue’s movements is crucial if we’re going to combat the disease. GIS is just one of the tools that can help us keep a closer eye on where dengue’s been, and where it might be headed.
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Begin improving public health from your smartphone. Join Dengue Track!
To capture local initiatives that combat dengue on the ground, we are supporting Alejandra Laiton – an independent travel blogger and grad student – who will be sharing her discoveries and insights with all of us.
Hailing from Bogotá, Colombia, Alejandra will be documenting stories from Southeast Asia and Latin America for BreakDengue.org and readers like you. She has a degree in Social Communication & Journalism with extensive professional experience from 4 countries in the communications field. As part of her master’s degree, she is casino researching online activism and its impact in developing countries. Her focus is on local dengue initiatives.
Passionate about travelling, photography, sustainable development, and education, her current mission is to find local initiatives that are fighting and minimizing the effects of dengue every day. She will find those local actors and their stories, sharing how tangible differences are being made.
Follow Alejandra’s journey as she blogs about it and track her progress on her Twitter account.
