User:VanJoyGer/sandbox

Background
Dengue fever is an infectious disease caused by the dengue virus known to be in the tropical regions. It is transmitted by mosquito Aedes, or A aegypti.

The cases of Dengue fever increased dramatically since the 1970s and continues to become more prevalent. This diesease is believed to be due to a combination of urbanization, population growth, increased international travel, and global warming. The same trends also led to the spread of different serotypes of the disease to new areas, and to the emergence of dengue hemorrhagic fever. There are four different types of virues in dengue fever.If someone is infected with one type of dengue virus, he or she will have permanent immunity to that type of dengue virus, but will have short term immunity to the other type of dengue fever. Some of the symptoms of dengue fever are fever, headache,muscle and joint pains and skin rash. There is no vaccine for Dengue fever right now and there is no true treatment to get rid of it, but there are treatments to assist with some of the symptoms of dengue, such as the use of oral or intravenous fluids for rehydration. We can only get rid of mosquitoes and clear out the habitat of mosquitoes and stop exposure to bites.

Climate Change Impacts
Dengue fever used to be considered a tropical disease, but climate change is causing dengue fever to spread. Dengue fever is transmitted by certain types of mosquitos, which have been spreading further and further north. This is because some of the climate changes that are occurring are increased heat,precipitation and humidity which create prime breeding grounds for mosquitos. The hotter and wetter a climate is the faster the mosquitos can mature and the faster the disease can develop. Another influence is the changing El Nino effects that are affecting the climate to change in different areas of the world, causing dengue fever to be able to spread.

What can be done?
There are many things that can be done, both on a governmental level and on an individual basis. 1.) Have a better system of detecting when dengue outbreaks may happen. This can be done by monitoring environments, such as temperatures, rainfall and humidity that would be attractive for these types of mosquitos to flourish. 2.) Educating the public: Letting the public know when a dengue outbreak is occurring and what they can do to protect themselves. For example, poeple should create a living environment that is not attractive to mosquitos (no sitting water), dress in appropriate clothing (light colours, long sleeves)and wear insect repellant.