User:Maxwellmcgowan/2023 dengue outbreak in Bangladesh

Outbreak Background
According to the World Health Organization, Dengue Fever is a primarily mosquito-borne illness that can last between 1-2 weeks with a majority of cases not showing any symptoms. In cases with symptoms, the WHO says that the most common symptoms are "high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash" and the symptoms can last between 2-7 days from the first observation, although in severe cases hospitalization and death are possible. While no dengue-specific treatment exists, prevention by avoiding mosquito-heavy areas and draining standing water are the most common ways to prevent and deal with the illness. DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4 are the main observed strains of Dengue in Bangladesh with any strain giving previously infected individuals cross-immunity between the different strains. However, the individual will only retain long-term immunity against the strain that the individual was infected with originally meaning that someone can be infected up to four times in their lifetime.

Bangladesh has also experienced several smaller spread Dengue outbreaks with a notable outbreak in 2000 infecting 5,551 individuals and resulting in the deaths of 93. Since 2017 the most common form of Dengue has been DEN-3, and according to the Bangladesh Medical Research Council from 20-19 indicated an increase in the density of mosquitos in and around Dhaka in the "monsoon survey (18-27 July 2019) of 100 sites of 98 wards in Dhaka city both North and South revealed that the number of adult aedes mosquito was increased by 13.52 folds, in compare to the pre-monsoon (3-12 March 2019) survey."

Bangladesh is a nation particularly vulnerable to Dengue Fever due to the warm climate and heavy rainfall, enabling the fever to spread through Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes which are described by the UN as "long plagued tropical and sub-tropical regions". ACAPS noted in a briefing note that "Dengue outbreaks usually coincide with the warmer months and monsoon season" which for Bangladesh is typically between May and September. ACAPS also noted that poor urban planning for water and waste allowed water to sit in dense areas, allowing mosquitoes to have ease of spreading and reaching humans.