Dengue Fever

Hey All-  I don't have an update from Brandon to share. He did say in email, "Just tell everyone that I'm sick, and that John 15 is the most beautiful thing I have ever read. Tell everyone to study it, not just read it, and you will feel Christ's love."

He woke up in the night Friday night with a horrible fever, searing headache, body aches and chills and he's been in bed for three days straight now with these same symptoms.  It seems to be dengue fever.  He is really feeling awful and his spirits are low, too.  He did have a wonderful spiritual experience the night he woke up sick that brought him some peace. I am hoping this will pass soon.

Please pray for him!  He really needs your prayers at this time.

Thank you.

Dengue Fever

Dengue (pronounced DENgee) fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

Each year, an estimated 100 million cases of dengue fever occur worldwide. Most of these are in tropical areas of the world, with the greatest risk occurring in:

• The Indian subcontinent
• Southeast Asia
• Southern China
• Taiwan
• The Pacific Islands
• The Caribbean (except Cuba and the Cayman Islands)
• Mexico
• Africa
• Central and South America (except Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina)

Most cases in the United States occur in people who contracted the infection while traveling abroad. But the risk is increasing for people living along the Texas-Mexico border and in other parts of the southern United States. In 2009, an outbreak of dengue fever was identified in Key West, Fla.

Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with a dengue virus. The mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with dengue virus in their blood. It can’t be spread directly from one person to another person.

Symptoms of Dengue Fever

Symptoms, which usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, may include

• Sudden, high fever
• Severe headaches
• Pain behind the eyes
• Severe joint and muscle pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Skin rash, which appears three to four days after the onset of fever
• Mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)