Red Cross Global Tally Of Dengue Fever Cases So Far In 2017 Double Last Year's Total
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On the ground, the Red Cross and other relief agencies are counting over 100,000 cases this year, almost double the total number of cases reported last year. The true numbers of dengue fever that occur anywhere are dicey because dengue infections without symptoms or with mild symptoms aren't always tested for dengue.
Unlike many tropical diseases, dengue fever has shown no fallback when challenged with improved medical care, better identification of disease vectors, and communities with more knowledge of what could make them sick. In a study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, a team of researchers used modeling, genetic sequencing, and socioeconomic, migration, and transportation trends to reach startling findings. The collaboration of global warming and global air travel could bring dengue to the doorsteps of countries not accustomed to dealing with the devastating third-world tropical disease.
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According to the PLoS study, patients who suffer a first, mild dengue infection are more likely to suffer the more severe complications of dengue hemorrhagic fever if they are infected again by a dengue strain from a different viral lineage — or viral family line. Previous research suggests that deadlier symptoms with a second infection are the result of an "antibody-dependent enhancement." Second infections cause more severe symptoms because your body has seen a different strain of the same disease before. Or — the first infection primes your immune system for a more serious reaction if attacked a second time by a different strain.
If this follows, the authors suggest that multiple strains of dengue popping up in the same geographic region could spell real trouble. And it seems to be that co-circulation of multiple strains of dengue is actually what is happening, especially in Asia. Because of these disturbing shifts in strains and what happens when they collide, researchers set out to crunch the factors driving the trend.
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https://www.invisiverse.com/news/dangerous-dengue-fever-could-go-worldwide-with-help-from-air-travel-climate-change-0179206/
