Tropical dengue fever is most often spread through the bite of a mosquito, but scientists recently discovered the disease elsewhere. Dengue is usually transmitted by biting insects or in some medical procedures, but now it’s feared it can be sexually transmitted.
An estimated 390 million dengue infections occur worldwide each year, with about 96 million resulting in illness. Symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, and joint and muscle pain.
There is currently no cure for the virus and it is most commonly caught by people traveling to hotter climates such as southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. Previously it was believed that the virus was normally transmitted through a biting insect such as a mosquito or a tick, although some medical procedures and breastfeeding could also spread the virus. But scientists have now, for the first time, found the virus in the semen of a recovered Italian man.
The study, published in journal Eurosurveillance, documented the case of an Italian man in his 50’s diagnosed with dengue fever after returning from Thailand in January. The man was otherwise healthy but suffered from joint pain, fatigue, and nausea during the illness. He was admitted to the National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome after feeling ill for nine days.
Researchers reported that this has never happened before, according to The Daily Mail. “To our knowledge, the presence and persistence of DENV [dengue fever] in the male genital tract has never been reported so far. Our findings highlight the possibility of sexual transmission of DENV that could play a role in the spreading of infection in non-endemic areas,” they said. “However, no such events have been reported to date despite that fact that in 2016 alone, 2,601 travel-associated dengue cases were reported to The European Surveillance System at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.”
Scientists did say that further studies were needed to assess this new information and the possible new way for the dengue virus to spread. The best way for travelers to protect themselves from the dengue fever is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes by covering up with loose clothing and using a mosquito repellent. Dengue fever outbreaks are usually spread when people are bitten by mosquitoes that have bitten other people with the fever. They are not uncommon in popular tourist destinations and there was an outbreak in North Queensland in Australia last month, and in the Canary Islands in December.
Leads to the problem of things like Lyme also being transmitted sexually and perhaps even through saliva.
Plants that should be in your garden and around your house to repel mosquito:
Lavender, citronella grass, marigolds, rosemary, basil, mint, sage, wormwood, catnip, lemon grass, lemon balm, pennyroyal, and this geranium (pelargonium citrosum) which smells like citronella.
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I have lavender, mint, lemon balm and catnip (aka catmint) all growing in various places around my yard. It really helps a lot. Lavender is by my front door and stays there because it doesn’t “travel” around like mint, catnip and lemon balm.
God is good. Sodom needs to burn
So? I guess striking up a sexual relationship with a skeeter is out? Darn. As a guy who lives here in Florida, you either learn to deal with bugs or not. I work mostly outdoors near or on the water. They need to broadcast common sense stuff to prevent bites. Stay clear of any and all perfume or good/sweet smelling soaps (including what you use for laundry. Stay the heck away from any type of soda pop and limit all sugar intake – it’ll make your sweat real attractive to the buggies. Drink the native fruit juices – full of acids and the resultant perspiration is not as tasty to the Devil’s birds. Dress right. Just look at any yard crew or such – they wear long-sleeves, long pants, hats and often bandanas or some other type of face netting or scarf. Get a tan – it’ll help cut down on the radiated heat your body puts out. Move slow and don’t go waving around making a big heat signature that’s active and noticed by the bugs.
Lavender soap might be an exception. I use it all the time and generally don’t seem to be attractive to skeeters.
I’ve also heard that people with a a fairly large intake of garlic are also not bothered by assorted biting insects. Can anyone confirm that? Love to know.
Yahooie, garlic doesn’t seem to help, with no-see-ums at least. And fire ants…they are the Borg.
We don’t have mosquitoes around here and one reason could be the altitude we’re at. When we see one they are tiny and weak. And for some reason, rare. Strange for the tropics but we’ll take it!
I can’t find anything confirming that this is true. Dengue Fever can be passed sexually among mosquitoes, and the virus can be spread to a mosquito from an infected person. Insect born illness in the US alone has tripled in the last few years. This may introduce more issues in the future as these emerging diseases spread. I’ll keep it on my radar.
for reference
http://www.isid.org/
http://www.promedmail.org/