Meredith Cox
Sept. 2, 2009
6:05 p.m.
While most of the world worries about Swine Flu, Asia is worried about Dengue Fever. It is also known as "breakbone fever" and there is no vaccine as of yet. The government has been trying to control the outbreaks as best possible; even fining people and business if the Aedes mesquito's breeding grounds are found on their property. Some people blame urbanization for the outbreak while others blame global warming. The number of cases are rising and uninformed people are dying simply because they did not know the severity or put off going to the doctor. The government and world health organizations have come up with “Dengue Strategic Plan, 2009-2013,” in hopes of cutting back by 10% each year. However, the opinion of most is that releif will come when a vaccine is created; even though once infected people show more vunerablility to another more resilient from of infection.
I was actually shocked to hear about this. I really hadn't heard anything about it or any infections from mesquitoes in quite some time. I agree that a vaccination is the best plan of action and would help the most people. However, I feel that the government and local organizations need to continue getting the word out to people so they can keep breeding grounds away from their homes and know when to see a doctor. SImple information can be what causes the death toll to go down.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/world/asia/02iht-fever.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
No comments:
Post a Comment