Dengue fever - the hidden australian virus

If we talk about incoming virus and diseases, the word dengue is not one that springs to mind.

The illness, nicknamed the bone breaker or bone crusher disease, can in worst cases kill, but often causes a severe overall body fever.

It is a dangerous illness, in the fact that it can be misdiagnosed as influenza in milder cases. Often symptoms do not instantly develop and are unrecognised at first, which can lead to a dangerous period of incubation. However, it can only be passed through blood, or mosquitos - the prime carrier.

Often travellers that pick it up will carry it for up to a week before symptoms develop.

It can develop as headaches and overall body pains. It often develops into a rash, which is bright red and can appear on lower limbs or the chest, but if untreated can spread to the entire body.

In these cases it can then develop to intestinal pain, which can lead to cases of vomiting or diarrhea, of which blood can be passed.

Here, the demon of the virus can surface, given that dengue is loosely related to Hepatitis C. This can lead to health complications later in life.

Why then, must I be doing my best to create such scare and panic?

Queensland Health has stated in the last week that dengue has officially become an outbreak in Northern Queensland - the worst in 50 years.

Close to 1000 cases have been confirmed in the region.

It is the largest outbreak in half a century.

It is transmitted through mosquito's, with the key issues being the flood affected area's that are a major attraction for the insects.

This follows a major outbreak that was seen in the 1950's in Townsville, where over 15,000 people were infected.

According to the World Health Organisation, nearly half of the worlds population is at risk of dengue, and there is risk of over 50 million confirmed cases each year.

Officially, it is a epidemic in over 100 countries world wide.

Further evidence has come to light that Queensland Health has previously passed recommendations to the government that a special investigation commitee be formed in Brisbane.

A $6 million proposal would have seen inspectors effectively begin operating in Brisbane. So far, dengue has been detected in the mid and upper north of Queensland. Detected, due to the operators in these area's that are not present in Brisbane and the South East population heavy areas.

This proposal was ignored and refused.

Essentially, the Queensland Government believes that according to their health departments, there is no impending problem.

A statement that contradicts that recommendation from the same departments.

This follows a summit barely a few weeks ago, where entomologists and public health experts from America and Singapore visited Cairns to find new methods to arrest the development of a major epidemic in Queensland.

This was called by Queensland Health.