Brilio.net - There are various diseases caused by mosquitoes, one of which is chikungunya and dengue fever. Chikungunya is often confused with dengue fever . Even though the two diseases are different, the virus transmission of these two diseases is both from the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes.
The difference is, chikungunya or what is usually called bone flu is caused by infection from mosquitoes that carry the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Meanwhile, dengue fever is caused by bites from uninfected Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes. Both mosquitoes are often found in tropical and subtropical countries after the rainy season.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2019 more than 1.9 million cases of chikungunya occurred in Asia. Meanwhile, from kemkes.go.id, the Data Center of the Indonesian Ministry of Health noted that throughout 2019 there were 5,042 cases of chikungunya fever. Of these cases, 1,044 cases occurred in West Java Province, followed by Lampung with 829 cases, and Gorontalo with 534 cases.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that diseases originating from the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes are very dangerous for humans. Actually, it is not difficult to differentiate between dengue fever and chikungunya , as long as you know the typical signs and symptoms of these two diseases. The following brilio.net summarizes from various sources, Thursday (6/6).
Differences in symptoms of chikungunya and dengue fever
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Reporting from WHO, symptoms caused by mosquitoes exposed to the CHIKV virus usually occur 48 days (range 212 days) after the bite of an infected mosquito. This disease is characterized by sudden fever and severe joint pain. Joint pain is often debilitating and usually lasts for several days to weeks, months, or even years.
Other common signs and symptoms include joint swelling, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash. However, most patients recover completely from the infection. However, several cases of eye, heart and neurological complications have been found due to CHIKV infection. Older patients have a higher risk of developing severe disease. In addition, newborns who have comorbid medical conditions can become seriously ill and CHIKV infection can increase the risk of death.
The symptoms of dengue fever usually appear 4-10 days after getting a mosquito bite. Dengue fever can cause high fever up to 40 degrees Celsius. Apart from that, symptoms include headaches, muscle, bone and joint pain, nausea, vomiting, pain behind the eyes, swollen glands and rashes. DHF can also be life-threatening because blood vessels become damaged and leak.
Such conditions will cause the number of clot-forming cells or platelets to drop drastically. Symptoms that can be seen after the first 2 days of fever disappear include severe stomach pain, continuous vomiting, bleeding in the gums or nose, blood in urine, stool, or vomit, bleeding under the skin that looks like bruising, difficult or rapid breathing, fatigue, irritability or restlessness.
How to treat chikungunya and dengue fever
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Chikungunya does not need special treatment, because this type of disease can heal by itself. In many cases, the symptoms of the pain will subside within 1-2 weeks. However, joint pain will last for months or even years.
The treatment that will be given by the medical staff is anti-inflammatory medication or bone flu medication to relieve joint pain and fever. Apart from that, patients will be advised to drink plenty of fluids and get enough rest.
Meanwhile, for dengue fever, there is no specific treatment aimed at fighting the Dengue virus. In general, dengue fever treatment aims to reduce symptoms, increase the strength of the immune system, and prevent complications.
The way to treat dengue fever is to get enough rest, hydrate the body, take painkillers, avoid NSAIDs, compress with a warm or cold cloth, eat healthy food, and always check with a doctor.
Prevention of dengue fever and chikungunya
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To prevent the spread of chikungunya disease, you can take the following steps:
- Drain the water reservoir.
- Close the water reservoir tightly.
- Recycle used items that have the potential to hold water, for example used bottles or used containers.
- Sprinkle abate powder in the water reservoir.
- Keep fish that can eat mosquito larvae.
- Use anti-mosquito medication. Install anti-mosquito wire in the house ventilation.
- Plant plants that can repel mosquitoes.
- Stop the habit of hanging clothes in the open.
- Repair damaged water pipes. Working together to maintain the cleanliness of the living environment.
Meanwhile, prevention of dengue fever is as follows:
- Clean places that are often used as water reservoirs such as buckets, bathtubs, drinking water reservoirs, refrigerators, and others.
- Cleaning places that are often used as water reservoirs must be maintained by covering them again so that mosquitoes do not breed in them.
- Recycling places that become mosquito nests is the right step, such as used bottles, items that have been flooded with water, and many more.