Sixteen dengue fever cases have been confirmed and another nine suspected in the city of Pemba, the capital of the northern Cabo Delgado Province in the southeastern African country of Mozambique, according to a Xinhua report today.
Health officials attribute the outbreak of the mosquito-borne viral disease to the heavy rains in the province in recent months while people already carry the virus. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page.
Health ministry officials say the situation was under control and it has sent medical staff to eliminate the vectors of the disease.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of five (researchers recently identified a fifth dengue subtype, the first in 50 years) related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infectionsworldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.
There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
There is not a vaccine for dengue fever. There is no treatment for dengue, just treat the symptoms.
