In a follow-up report concerning the dengue fever outbreak in Nampula, in northern Mozambique, the health ministry confirms that so far, 110 cases of dengue have been recorded in the province but there have been no deaths.
Deputy national director of public health, Benigna Matsinhe said, “As soon as the Ministry received reports of a possible dengue outbreak blood samples were taken from the patients and submitted to laboratory tests, which confirmed the presence of the virus.”
According to the World Health Organization, dengue is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with one of the four dengue virus serotypes. It is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults with symptoms appearing 3-14 days after the infective bite. As many as 400 million people are infected yearly.
Dengue is not transmitted directly from person-to-person and symptoms range from mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. There is no vaccine or any specific medicine to treat dengue. People who have dengue fever should rest, drink plenty of fluids and reduce the fever using paracetamol or see a doctor.
Severe dengue (also known as dengue hemorrhagic fever) is characterized by fever, abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, bleeding and breathing difficulty and is a potentially lethal complication, affecting mainly children. Early clinical diagnosis and careful clinical management by trained physicians and nurses increase survival of patients.
