Dengue fever on the rise in Sultanate

THERE'S a significant increase in dengue fever cases in the country, said the Ministry of Health's Environmental Health Division.

Since January, the division has recorded 35 cases compared to 38 cases for the whole of last year.

For the first time, two cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever have been reported, a more virulent form of dengue fever, where a patient bleeds through his skin, nose or eyes.

In an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday, Head of Environmental Health Division Dr Muhammad Hussein said the two victims responded well to medical treatment and have since fully recovered.

Speaking on dengue haemorrhagic fever, he said: "Perhaps dengue is mutating, or that these two patients have been exposed to dengue type one (normal dengue). However, the patients may have also been exposed to another type, hence experiencing more serious symptoms."

In more serious cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever, Dr Muhammad said, patients could suffer from "dengue shock syndrome", during which major organs collapse.

Senior Health Officer Kamaludin Mohd Yassin at the Environmental Health Division said that there has been an increase in the number of dengue cases because people now go for a medical check-up as soon as they experience fever.

"In the past, people just used to take panadol when they had a fever. However, recently, people are more educated and more aware of the symptoms of dengue," he said.

In 2008, the department recorded 32 cases of dengue fever, while 38 cases were reported last year.

Kamaludin said the symptoms of dengue fever include a person experiencing a fever, body aches and pains, chills or a viral rash.

He added another reason for the hike in dengue cases was due to patterns of mosquito breeding through "global warming".

"With global warming, less rain occurs and temperature rises. This (high temperature) is (a perfect environment) for the mosquitoes to breed and hatch," he said.

The senior health officer explained that the Aedes mosquito usually breeds in stagnant water, especially in containers and tyres.

"When it rains, these (containers and tyres) collect water which then becomes a breeding site. The mosquito lays their eggs in the stagnant water, and hatches when the temperature of the water increases."

A healthy person can easily be infected with dengue through a simple process, he added.

"The vector (the mosquito) will carry the virus (dengue) and transmit it to other organisms, especially to animals and humans," he said.

Incubation of the virus takes about seven days, and an infected person may not experience the symptoms until after that period, he added.

Kamaludin said that although most cases of dengue in Brunei were spread locally, some cases had been transmitted from "carriers" who recently went abroad.

"That person may have gone to a country that has dengue. He may not know he has been infected because of the incubation period," he said.

According to a study published this month in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, the illness affects around 50 million people each year.

The Brunei Times