Before I forget
Jun 6th, 2008 by Don Ray
I went on a walk this morning and when I saw the area in the following photo, I decided it was time to post another warning related to Dengue.
This area is normally clear of growth, but it hasn’t been taken care of and with all the rain, it can allow pockets of water to remain and become the breading ground for dengue. As a side note, the big building on the left of the photo is the new Conway store in Plaza El Terronal.
Back to Dengue. If you are planning on visiting Panama, or are a new resident and don’t know anything about Dengue, then you need to educate yourself. This is a serious disease in much of the Americas. It can be deadly!
Here is an excerpt from a Stanford University website.
The Dengue virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae and is transmitted to people through the bite of the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Dengue virus is now believed to be the most common arthropod-borne disease in the world. Dengue is mainly found in the tropics because the mosquitoes require a warm climate. A major fear of epidemiologists is that the mosquitoes will develop resistance to cooler climates and then be able to infect people in the United States and other temperate climates. The virus is transmitted when a mosquito of the Aedes genus bites an individual infected with dengue virus. The virus in the blood of the infected individual then infects the mosquito and travels from the mosquito’s stomach to its salivary glands were the virus multiplies. The virus is then injected into another person when the mosquito injects anticoagulants that prevent blood clotting when the mosquito is feeding. The mosquito remains able to transmit dengue for its entire life.
Another source of information is the Center of Disease Control.
It is significant enough that David has a Dengue indicator on one of its main streets. I think its current setting is in the yellow range. I will check when I go out in a day or two.
Take Dengue seriously. This isn’t anything to mess with.
