Since the beginning of this year, the three countries of Southeast Asia's leading tourist route "Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand" have all been visa-free for Chinese tourists, adding more convenience to outbound travel. According to CCTV News, outbound travel orders from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand during the Spring Festival increased by more than 15 times year-on-year. In this massive crowd movement, being able to ensure good health is the perfect trip, and personal protection is key.
Recently, dengue fever outbreaks have been reported in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, so what should we do to prepare before traveling to these places?
First of all, let's understand what dengue fever is. Dengue fever is an acute insect-borne infectious disease caused by dengue virus and transmitted by the bite of Aedes mosquitoes, mainly in the tropics and zones, among which Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific and the Americas are the most serious, and Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and other places in China are the endemic areas of dengue fever and belong to class B infectious diseases. Its typical symptoms are high fever, rash and three pains (i.e., headache, orbital pain, musculoskeletal joint pain), and there is no specific drug for pathogens, and supportive and symptomatic measures are mainly taken. And there is no effective vaccine to prevent dengue. The vast majority of dengue cases in Shanghai are imported, so recent trips abroad, especially to Southeast Asia, are particularly important.
The route of transmission of dengue fever is mainly caused by "patients Aedes mosquitoes healthy people". Diseases are generally not transmitted directly from person to person. After a dengue fever patient or a cryptoactive person is bitten by Aedes mosquitoes, the virus usually needs to multiply in the body of Aedes mosquitoes for about 8-10 days before it can be transmitted to humans through the bite. The population in China is generally susceptible, and after infection, the incubation period is generally 3-14 days, but there are also some people who do not get sick, that is, they are invisible. The vectors that can transmit dengue virus are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (commonly known as flower mosquitoes), and the only vector to worry about in Shanghai is Aedes albopictus, which has strong reproductive ability and flight advantages, and the virus can spread quickly to various places after importation. Tree holes, stone holes, waterlogged tires, discarded bowls and boxes, bottles and jars for storing water, and leaf axils of clumps of plants in the community are all hotbeds for the reproduction of Aedes albopictus.
So how can you have a comfortable and healthy journey? Before traveling, you need to arrange your itinerary reasonably, make a travel strategy in advance, pay attention to the incidence and flow of infectious diseases at the destination, understand the prevention and control knowledge of relevant infectious diseases, and if you know that the tourist destination is breaking out, it is recommended to postpone or change the destination for your own health.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, and mosquito prevention and control is an effective measure to prevent dengue fever. When traveling, it is best to wear long-sleeved, light-colored clothing, and apply insect repellents containing DEET. It is recommended to use mosquito coils, electronic mosquito repellents, electric mosquito swatters, mosquito lamps and other equipment in the hotel, and you can also use insecticide sprays to treat mosquitoes in the room. If symptoms such as fever and rash develop within 2 weeks after returning home from the trip, dengue infection should be considered, and a doctor's visit should be made promptly and a history of travel to dengue-endemic areas should be explained. In order to prevent the spread of the disease to family members or others, it is necessary to cooperate with the requirements of the local health and epidemic prevention department for dengue fever prevention and control. When staying at home or in the hospital**, do a good job of mosquito prevention, including using mosquito nets, screen doors and windows, wearing long-sleeved clothes and pants, spraying mosquito repellents and other measures. Clean up the small stagnant water containers at home, remove stagnant water, and plant aquatic plants should change the water and wash the bottles and wash the roots every 3-5 days to control the growth and reproduction of mosquitoes. Travelers should do a good job of health monitoring, and if they have relevant discomfort symptoms, they should also go to a regular medical institution for diagnosis and treatment in time.
Zhang Yulan (Public Health Attending Physician, Changzheng Town Community Health Service Center, Putuo District, Shanghai).