It sounds like a tropical disease, far away, even non-existent, but the reality is that dengue is still present in Europe, and also in our country.
Yesterday the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies of the Ministry of Health released a report in which 6 cases of people infected with this disease occurred in Spain.
Specifically, the health authorities refer to 1 confirmed case, 1 probable and 4 compatible with the symptoms of the infection. They are two German families, who were in Ibiza last year, one from August 23 to 30 and the other from October 6 to 13.
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The origin of these cases is the Aedes albopictus mosquito, known as tiger mosquitodetected since 2014 in the Balearic Islands, and in some areas of the interior and north of the country.
Right now, the health authorities consider that the risk of new cases appearing is very low, since during these months the activity of this mosquito is not common.
But in the face of summer and autumn, the risk of new autochthonous cases appearing in Ibiza, “is considered moderate once the period of vector activity begins (May-November)”, says the report from the Center for the Coordination of Alerts and Health Emergencies.
What is dengue and how is it transmitted?
The dengue virus belongs to the genus of flaviviruses. There are four serotypes of this virus and its main route of transmission to humans occurs through the bite of a mosquito, the Aedes, which are already infected.
There are other ways of becoming infected, such as a transfusion, a transplant, puncture or mucosal contact with infected material and vertical route (from mother to child during pregnancy), although they are very rare.
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The infection process is as follows: the female mosquito bites an infected individual and from there the virus remains in the insect that incubates it until it reaches its salivary glands. When this already infected female bites again, she transmits the virus.
Once the bite occurs, the incubation period of between 4 and 7 days begins in the infected person, and from that period the first symptoms begin:
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very high (40ºC)
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Headache.
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Pains both muscular and bone or .
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Nausea and/or vomiting.
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Pain behind the eyes.
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Inflammation of the nodes.
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Rash.
This when symptoms appear, because as they explain from Health “infection is asymptomatic in 40-80% of cases”.
Is dengue fever or can it be serious?
Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases the disease is mild and does not last more than a week.
But there are some patients, less than 5%, who develop what is known as severe dengue or dengue hemorrhagic fever, which causes much more serious problems, such as:
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Respiratory difficulty due to pulmonary edema.
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Pleural and pericardial effusion.
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hypovolemic shock.
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Serious bleeding.
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Significant organic damage.
“Among serious cases, the fatality can reach 30-40%, if they are not diagnosed and treated properly during the critical period,” the experts explain.
So far, there is no specific treatment for dengue, although for a couple of years (2021) a vaccine has been available that is only used in regions where the disease is endemic.
Dengue in Spain
In the 20th century, Europe had managed to eradicate dengue within its borders by eliminating one of the mosquitoes that most transmit it, the Aedes aegypti.
But since 2010, cases of dengue have been appearing in different European countries such as Croatia, France and Italy, related to the Aedes albopictus mosquito. In Spain, most of the reported cases are imported by travelers from countries with dengue transmission.
However, now, with the presence in our country of the tiger mosquito, mainly in:
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the entire Mediterranean coast
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Andalusia
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Some inland areas in Aragon
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Basque Country
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Madrid
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Estremadura
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Balearics
it increases the chances of autochthonous cases appearing, especially in the periods in which these insects are most active (from April to November).