The Down Side of Paradise

[Michele]

Dengue Fever. We've got it and you DON'T want it. A distant cousin to malaria, it is tranferred by mosquitos from person to person. Everyone in my house has had or now has it. The symptoms are generally flu like in nature but specifically include periods of high fever, rash, eye pain, joint pain, a mind numbing headache impervious to Tylenol, Advil, Motrin etc...and my favorite, horrible sweats followed by freezing cold fits.
It is often referred to as "Breakbone Disease"....use your imagination.
Looks like we'll be laid up for at least a few more days (It's been 5 days already) The two babies were only sick a few days, Connor is better today after 1 week and Rob, Jill and I are still well in the thick of it. I'm miserable but at least I feel like I've gone native. Send healthy thoughts our way.

[Beachnutt719]

Sos sorry to hear Michele. Hope you are all feeling better soon.

[Mikey]

Healthy thoughts coming your way. Did you guys use Off or something like it to keep the mosquito's away? Hope all you guys get better soon.

Yes do tell whether you all have been using OFF because we're coming there for three weeks and I was going to buy some of that.

Also, sorry to hear about the Dengue Fever. Hope you feel better soon.

BTW, we get to deal with tornadoes and lime disease.

[dj nancy]

sorry to hear....i hope the entire family is back up and running in no time!!

more questions: were you in jungle areas? remember getting bitten? multiple bites?
is this a one time thing that all go through and you build tolerance to it?

[Michele]

My last trip to the jungle was three weeks ago and my children were not with us. They were infected first, most likely in our house. The mosquito that passes on this illness bites during the day in is prevelent in residential areas. Like all mosquitos they breed in standing water, they are usually in areas with discarded refuse, plastic containers, tires etc.. We have a vacant, neglected lot next to us which is the most likely breeding ground.
As for wearing Off or what have you, no. We have as many mosquitos in our house as outside it seems. It's not feasible or healthy for us to live in a coating of Deet. Yes we have screens in all our windows, brand new in fact. This is just one of those things.
As far as building up a resistance to the strain, my readings indicate that the opposite may be more likely. Google Dengue Fever. There is all sorts of info. I'd post a link but I've forgotten all my cool posting skills. Thanks for the well wishes.

Sorry to hear of you family's illness. Here's to a speedy recovery for all.

We'll be in Playa in July. Not sure what the Mosquito season is there ... but we'll be in the hight of West Nile Virus season here (toronto). Unfortunately, the entire world now is susseptable to Mosquito borne diseases.

On the Deet front ... there is good news on the horizon:

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=420 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=300>CDC pushing new mosquito repellents</TD><TD vAlign=top align=right width=120>Apr. 28, 2005</TD></TR><TR><TD width=420 colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD width=420 colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD width=420 colSpan=2>Provided by: Canadian Press</TD></TR><TR><TD width=420 colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD width=420 colSpan=2>Written by: DANIEL YEE</TD></TR><TR><TD width=420 colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD width=420 colSpan=2>ATLANTA (CP) - After years of promoting the chemical DEET as the best defence against West Nile-bearing mosquitoes, the government for the first time is recommending the use of two other insect repellents.

Repellents containing the chemical picaridin or the oil of lemon eucalyptus offer "long-lasting protection against mosquito bites," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, adding that repellents with DEET remain on the agency's recommendation list.

"Since West Nile virus is present across the entire country at this point and it's here to stay, we constantly need to be vigilant," said Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's division of vector-borne infectious diseases. "It gives consumers a better option to protect themselves."

Both products have been available elsewhere in the world, including Europe and Australia, since the 1980s. Health Canada didn't immediately return calls concerning the availability in this country. Repellent makers have been eager to introduce the products to U.S. markets but it was hard to compete with DEET, the only chemical touted as effective by local, state and federal health officials.

Federal officials maintained for years that non-DEET repellents were not likely to offer the same degree of protection from mosquito bites. DEET has been the go-to chemical for health officials trying to control the spread of the West Nile virus in the United States.

However, recent studies prompted CDC officials to broaden the recommendations. The CDC says picaridin is "often comparable with DEET products of similar concentration" and oil of lemon eucalyptus provides protection time "similar to low-concentration DEET products in two recent studies."

Consumers tend to like picaridin repellents because they are more pleasant to the skin and don't have the odour that DEET repellents have. And oil of lemon eucalyptus is a natural ingredient, which appeals to those who don't like the thought of putting chemicals on their skin, said Angela Proctor, a product manager for the Cutter line of insect repellents by Spectrum Brands.

Health Canada has banned products containing concentration of more than 30 per cent of DEET, citing health concerns, the most serious of which is the effect on the central nervous system. The agency recommends concentrations of less than 10 per cent for children under age 13, and no application at all for children under two years.

In the United States, only about 40 per cent of people use insect repellents. In Pacific coast states such as California - the state with the highest number of cases (771 cases, 23 deaths) last year - only 23 per cent use insect repellent, said Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez of the CDC.

"That's a lot of people who are going out there unprotected," she said.

Users complained of DEET's odour or said it feels unpleasant on the skin. DEET repellents also have reportedly damaged plastics and fake fingernails. Other people have speculated it could cause brain damage, although the Environmental Protection Agency said the chemical won't cause harm if used properly.

"There's a certain segment of the population that no matter how safe you tell them DEET is, . . . there's a hesitancy to use DEET," said Richard Falco, a Fordham University medical entomologist. "You can do so much to tell people what to use but if they're not using it you have to go to something else. I think this will have a positive impact on public health."

DEET was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1946 and has been registered with the Environmental Protection Agency as an approved active ingredient since 1957.

Various levels of DEET appear in the popular Off! lines by S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., including Deep Woods and Skintastic. Other brands such as Repel and BugOff! have lately launched products without DEET.

Spectrum Brands introduced a picaridin-based repellent in January - Cutter Advanced - and it has been marketing a repellent with oil of lemon eucalyptus since 2002. The products provide four and six hours of protection, respectively, Proctor said.

The CDC said it still will promote other personal protection measures, such as wearing long-sleeved clothing while outside and disposing of containers of water that could be breeding grounds for the flying insects.

West Nile virus first arrived in 1999 in New York. Last year there were 2,470 cases and 88 deaths. The highest number of U.S. cases came in 2003, when 9,682 people were infected and 264 died.

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[Andiline]

Sending lots of wishes for health to all of you from Germany. Hope they help...

[Michele]

Good info Smoke, thanks. I'm a big proponent of using good insect repellent especially while in wooded areas, cenotes etc. We are especially careful to protect the little ones. Unfortunately, because our whole household was infected, the most likely scenario is that it happened in our own home. Aaaaarg.

[Steve33]

Originally Posted by Michele

My last trip to the jungle was three weeks ago and my children were not with us. They were infected first, most likely in our house. The mosquito that passes on this illness bites during the day in is prevelent in residential areas. Like all mosquitos they breed in standing water, they are usually in areas with discarded refuse, plastic containers, tires etc.. We have a vacant, neglected lot next to us which is the most likely breeding ground.
As for wearing Off or what have you, no. We have as many mosquitos in our house as outside it seems. It's not feasible or healthy for us to live in a coating of Deet. Yes we have screens in all our windows, brand new in fact. This is just one of those things.
As far as building up a resistance to the strain, my readings indicate that the opposite may be more likely. Google Dengue Fever. There is all sorts of info. I'd post a link but I've forgotten all my cool posting skills. Thanks for the well wishes.

Sorry if this seems a little dense, but I assume you live in Playa del Carmen, from your avatar. So clearly you contracted this from the mosquitos in that area. Correct?

[Michele]

Yes, I'm here in Playa. And after 5 days in the house I'm starting to get Cabin Fever too.

Now I'm getting scared

[Michele]

PLEASE don't be. The chances of contracting this are slim. According to my neighbor, there is a course of injections administered to combat the symptoms more quickly. My post was meant more as a cry for pity than as a warning to others. Do not be sceeeeerd.

[pmb]

Hope you and your family feel well soon!