Protecting babies from dengue fever

Dengue fever in infants, infants and children is a worrisome situation in the country.

Dengue fever in infants, infants and children is a worrisome situation because this group of people can easily get worse once infected, so parents need to pay close attention to protect and take care of them. Be careful for children to avoid dengue fever.

 Overview of Dengue fever in infants and children

Dengue fever is an acute tropical disease caused by the dengue virus, transmitted by mosquito bites. Children born to mothers who have had dengue fever when infected are often more severe.

Dengue virus is divided into 4 types, called 4 different types of Dengue and all are capable of causing dengue fever in humans. If a person has previously had a disease caused by one type of dengue virus, and then is infected with another type of dengue virus, the disease is very likely to develop into severe dengue fever, hemorrhagic shock, characterized by major bleeding, plasma leakage, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia.

Some cases of dengue virus infection for the first time can still cause severe dengue symptoms, dengue shock. This phenomenon occurs mainly due to infection secondary to infection with another type of dengue virus, which occurs in both children and adults. However, in neonates, primary infection with dengue virus can even lead to hemorrhagic shock. The mortality rate from dengue fever is higher in infants than in older children.

If your family is living or traveling to an area with dengue fever, an infant under 12 months of age only needs to be bitten by a mosquito, the risk of dengue fever is quite high. The best way to protect children is to limit the risk of mosquito bites.

The complex pathogenesis of severe dengue in primary infection in infants, with many age-related confounding factors, is challenging for scientists. Dengue fever in neonates, infants and children is often not studied in detail due to limitations in clinical practice. However, when observing the severity of dengue in infants and infants, the scientists decided to focus their research on this group of subjects.

 Dengue fever prevalence in children

Age-related differences have been identified in dengue cases. These differences manifest in the incidence and specific clinical manifestations. Accordingly, the risk of dengue fever in infants is often higher. In Southeast Asia, the incidence of severe dengue in infants by age is 0.5 per 1000 children aged 3 to 8 months. The burden of dengue treatment is mainly concentrated in infants and children aged 5 to 9 years.

In Vietnam, dengue fever in children occurs quite commonly, appearing in most provinces across the country. The disease occurs all year round but often breaks out into a large epidemic at the beginning of the rainy season, peaking around June to October of the lunar calendar and gradually decreasing in the last months of the year. Dengue fever in young children is common in densely populated places with poor sanitation and hygiene conditions.

Currently, there is no specific medicine and vaccine for dengue fever, so the main method of disease control is to use mosquito repellant, mosquito killer, larvicide, active prevention of mosquito bites and the use of use chemical measures to deal with large outbreaks.

Symptoms of dengue fever in babies

The symptoms of dengue fever in infants can be difficult to recognize and are similar to those seen in children with common infections. Parents should note that sick children cannot recognize or tell their parents about their health status.

Parents need to take their baby to the doctor if they notice the following signs of temperature change:

high  fever (from 102   or higher) accompanied by any of the following symptoms: The child is irritable, fussy, overly agitated or sleepy; skin rash; Unusual bleeding (blood in the gums, nosebleeds, unusual bruising); Vomiting (3 or more times in 1 day).

 Why is dengue fever in newborns often severe?

Studies have shown that maternally derived IgG antibodies to dengue virus are a determinant of viral load and clinical outcome in infants through an antibody-dependent immune enhancement (ADE) mechanism. occurs with dengue virus serotypes. Dengue infection through the ADE mechanism inhibits the immune response related to the activity of macrophages. This was shown in several studies, in which infants in the study group had an increased susceptibility to various infections.

Treg cells (regulatory T lymphocytes) suppressed the body's protective responses against viruses and accelerated disease progression. The lower response intensity of adaptive T cells leads to rapid replication of dengue virus. On the other hand, neonates have lower numbers of antigen-specific helper T cells, leading to an exacerbation of the disease. Moreover, the activity of dendritic cells (or dendritic cells) in newborns is limited, the ability to produce IL-12 is low, and the regulatory function of the protein is not really complete. These factors make dengue fever in infants and young children more likely to be severe, even during the first dengue infection.

 Taking care of children with dengue fever at home

Taking care of children with dengue at home should follow the instructions of the treating doctor:

Fever control: Give the child acetaminophen (paracetamol) and take a bath with cool water; Add water: Help your baby not become dehydrated due to fever, vomiting or inability to eat; Watch for signs of dehydration: Your baby's fontanel is sunken in, mouth, tongue or lips become dry, eyes are sunken, baby cries but has no or very few tears, decreased urine output (small diaper changes) than usual). Take your baby to the doctor if you notice signs of severe dehydration in your baby.

 Preventing the risk of dengue fever in children

If you're living or traveling to an area where dengue fever is common, parents need to proactively protect babies under 2 months of age by using mosquito nets to cover cribs, strollers, and pushchairs. Dress your child in loose-fitting clothes, but wear long pants that can cover arms and legs.

Use insect repellent correctly:

Always read and follow the directions on the product label. Pay attention to ingredients that can be harmful to children, especially children under 2 years old; Adults should apply mosquito repellent to their hands, then apply to the baby's skin; Products containing eucalyptus oil should not be used by children under 3 years of age. Eliminate breeding places of midges, kill larvae (larvae) by:

Release fish into water containers in the house (such as basins, tanks, wells, jars, jars, jars, etc.) to kill larva (larvae); Collect and clean up waste items around the house, including broken bottles, butter pipes, coconut shells..., clean houses and gardens, turn water containers upside down when not in use; Periodically change the water in water containers; When an epidemic occurs, it is necessary to coordinate with the locality to prevent epidemics in the spraying of chemicals to kill mosquitoes into space. Dengue fever in infants, infants and children can lead to death if not diagnosed and treated promptly according to the instructions of the doctor. To avoid complicated progress of dengue fever, if parents suspect that the child has the disease, parents need to take the child to see a doctor at a medical facility.

To prevent children from getting dengue fever as well as other diseases, parents should add some supportive foods containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, group vitamins. B , ... helps to fully meet the needs of nutrients; At the same time, it supports the immune system, enhances resistance, reduces the risk of upper respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, flu.