Dengue fever cases over 50,000 in 2018 in Thailand. Is there seriously no vaccination for this yet?

[GroveHillWanderer]

16 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

 They could be in your bedroom all day and night but will only try and bite dusk and dawn

That's a bit of a myth - although the aedes aegypti (the mosquito type that carries dengue) is generally more active at dusk and dawn, it will bite "at any time during the day, especially indoors, in shady areas, or when the weather is cloudy."

 

CDC dengue information

Edited December 2, 2018 by GroveHillWanderer

[scubascuba3]

That's a bit of a myth - although the aedes aegypti (the mosquito type that carries dengue) is generally more active at dusk and dawn, it will bite "at any time during the day, especially indoors, in shady areas, or when the weather is cloudy."

 

CDC dengue information

Not a myth its based on actual dengue mosquitoes in my room, i see them in the evening, no bites during the night, they become more active around sunset, morning less so.

 

Whats your actual experience?

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Not a myth its based on actual dengue mosquitoes in my room, i see them in the evening, no bites during the night, they become more active around sunset, morning less so.

 

Whats your actual experience?

 

My experience is that I have been bitten by mosquitoes which to my untrained eye, appeared to be aedes aegypti, at various times throughout the day, while sitting on the shaded patio of our house. However that's purely anecdotal evidence and of no scientific value.

 

What's more important is that some of the most reputable organisations in the world when it comes to the characteristics of diseases, such as the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) say that aedes aegypti mosquitoes are active during the day, with peaks of activity around dusk and dawn.

 

I've already given a link to (and a quotation from) the CDC article on this, here's a link to the WHO info that says the same thing.

 

WHO Dengue FAQ's

 

There was also a study done of aedes aegypti biting patterns in Bangkok, which states:

 

Quote

A comparison of the biting activity of female [aedes aegypti] mosquitos in the three seasons shows that even though there are some seasonal differences, the catches decreased at midday.

 

In the cool season the peak of the afternoon biting activity is earlier than in the hot and rainy seasons; this phenomenon may be due to a change in the length of the daylight period.

 

Although not so obvious, there may be a similar change in the morning peak. In the rainy season there is an increase in the total time of biting during the day and the biting peaks become more widely spaced.

A study of biting habits of Aedes aegypti in Bangkok, Thailand.

 

This study was published on the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health website.

Edited December 2, 2018 by GroveHillWanderer

[rickudon]

I get bitten a fair amount around the house and garden, and most of them are aedes aegypti. I mainly get bitten in the early evening, or morning and evening in the kitchen. In the garden they turn up at 4-5pm, never a problem earlier. 

 

Yes, newcomers do get a bit paranoid about Dengue. But if you take some precautions it lowers the risk, and be extra vigilant if you hear of a case locally. (99.9% plus of the mosquitos are not infected). You have about (very roughly) a less than 1% chance of catching it in any year, so may never get it. The DANGER is if you get it a second time, as the bodies reaction is usually more extreme (a bit like Spanish flu, which affected those with a good immune system more than those without). The vaccine takes the place of the first infection, making any infection AFTER vaccination more dangerous - so less chance of getting the infection, but a more serious reaction if you do ....

 

Compare death rates to road accidents. Dengue a hundred or so a year, road accidents 12,000 plus. Therein lie your priorities.

[scubascuba3]

A study of biting habits of Aedes aegypti in Bangkok, Thailand.
 
This study was published on the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health website.

Rather than theoretical info I'm more interested in the actual behaviour of the dengue mosquito where i go in Thailand and the biggest risk is dusk

[steve73]

I did read that the aedes aegypti spends most of its life within about a 200-500m range, so if you hear of your neighbors suffering then be extra cautious... Of course, with a 5-7 day incubation period after being bitten, then you'll have probably had plenty of exposure by the time you hear of others.

 

I live in a relatively isolated block of around 100 townhouses within c. 100m.  When I contracted dengue this year, there were around 5-6 other cases reported at the same time, all within a few days...   

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

2 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

A study of biting habits of Aedes aegypti in Bangkok, Thailand.
 
This study was published on the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health website.

Rather than theoretical info I'm more interested in the actual behaviour of the dengue mosquito where i go in Thailand and the biggest risk is dusk

Those are not theories, they are the results of actual, real-world observations, carried out in a properly-controlled scientific study - and in Thailand to boot.  Did you even bother reading the study? It was conducted at

Quote

"Wat Samphaya, a Buddhist monastery situated in the hub, or older section, of Bangkok. [...] It is about 94 m by 55 m in area. The north side of the Wat borders a low-class housing area, the east and west sides are separated from houses by roads, and the south faces the pagoda and auditorium of the Wat. There are about 90 bedrooms, all nearly the same size, that are occupied by priests or schoolboys, 1 or 2 per room.

 

Those properly-observed and meticulously-compiled results are worth far more than any anecdotal evidence you or I could come up with.

 

Incidentally, all the information I have referenced, agrees that there are peaks of activity around dawn and dusk but that this type of mosquito remains active throughout the day.

Edited December 2, 2018 by GroveHillWanderer

[scubascuba3]

 

Those properly-observed and meticulously-compiled results are worth far more than any anecdotal evidence you or I could come up with.

 

Incidentally, all the information I have referenced, agrees that there are peaks of activity around dawn and dusk but that this type of mosquito remains active throughout the day.

No i didn't bother reading it, i do an experiment every day in my room and i know when the Dengue mosquito comes out to bite, when it just flies about and when it just hides

 

[JimmyJ]

On 10/18/2018 at 6:06 PM, Crossy said:

In reality you have more chance of being hit by a truck whilst drinking in Starbucks than of dying from dengue. Of course if you are going jungle trekking in one of the high-risk areas all bets are off.

 

Take normal precautions, but I don't think it would be spraying insecticide on my clothing.

 

There is apparently a somewhat effective vaccine which you may be able to get before leaving home.

 

I got dengue (luckily uncomplicated) in Delhi (Indian mozzies seem to like Deet). Laid up for nearly 2 weeks. Most definitely not nice but there's no real treatment other than a jumbo pack of Tylenol and loads of water.

 

 

 

Crossy - "There is apparently a somewhat effective vaccine which you may be able to get before leaving home."

 

 

"The World Health Organization recommends that countries should consider vaccination with the dengue vaccine CYD-TDV only if the risk of severe dengue in seronegative individuals can be minimized either through pre-vaccination screening or recent documentation of high seroprevalence rates in the area (at least 80% by age 9 years).^[1]In 2017 the manufacturer recommended that the vaccine only be used in people who have previously had a dengue infection, as outcomes may be worsened in those who have not been previously infected."

 

"In 2016 a partially effective vaccine for dengue fever (Dengvaxia) became commercially available in 11 countries: Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru, Thailand, and Singapore.^[5][6][7] In Indonesia it costs about US$207 for the recommended three doses.^[7] WHO updated its recommendations regarding the use of Dengvaxia in September 2018 based on the evidence that seronegative vaccine recipients have an excess risk of severe dengue compared to unvaccinated seronegative individuals . It is not clear why the vaccinated sereonegative population have more serious adverse outcomes. A plausible hypothesis is the phenomenon of antibody-dependent enhancement.^[8]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_vaccine

 

Seronegative definition, showing no significant level of serum antibodies, or other immunologic marker in the serum, that would indicate previous exposure to the infectious agent being tested.

 

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/seronegative

 

So as I understand this, the 2 vaccines available should only be used by people who have previously been infected with dengue.

 

`

 

Edited December 2, 2018 by JimmyJ

[kwilco]

18 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Of course if you are going jungle trekking in one of the high-risk areas all bets are off.

Here is yet another example of how people get it wrong about Dengue.

Dengue is not jungles and rivers it is flowerpots and towns....it needs closely living people to spread.

[kwilco]

This thread demonstrates throughout how sorely ill-informed, mis-informed many expats are or they just simply don't understand the materials published about Dengue. The result is that they are leaving themselves far more at risk than they need to be.