#Dengue awareness

[drashfaqhealth]

ڈینگی مچھر بھگانے کے لئے لیموں اور لونگ کا استعمال قدرتی حل

New Post has been published on https://drashfaq.com/dr-ashfaq-tips/health-tips/1733/

ڈینگی مچھر بھگانے کے لئے لیموں اور لونگ کا استعمال قدرتی حل

ڈینگی مچھر بھگانے کے لئے لیموں اور لونگ کا استعمال قدرتی حل

ڈینگی مچھر کی وبا ایک عالمی مسئلہ بن چکی ہے جس کا سامنا ہر سال مختلف ممالک میں ہوتا ہے۔ یہ مچھر نہ صرف ڈینگی بخار کا باعث بنتا ہے بلکہ مختلف بیماریوں کو بھی پھیلاتا ہے۔ کیمیکل اسپری اور مچھر مار دواوں کے استعمال سے مچھروں کو بھگانا ممکن ہے، مگر یہ انسانی صحت اور ماحول کے لئے نقصان دہ ہو سکتے ہیں۔ لیموں اور لونگ کا استعمال ایک قدرتی اور مؤثر طریقہ ہے جس سے ڈینگی مچھر بھگایا جا سکتا ہے۔ اس پوسٹ میں ہم لیموں اور لونگ کے فوائد، ان کے استعمال کے طریقوں، اور اس سے ڈینگی مچھر کو بھگانے کے طریقوں پر تفصیل سے روشنی ڈالیں گے۔ لیموں کے فوائد لیموں ایک قدرتی جزو ہے جو مختلف طبی فوائد سے بھرپور ہوتا ہے۔ یہ نہ صرف کھانوں میں ذائقہ بڑھانے کے لئے استعمال ہوتا ہے بلکہ مختلف طبی فوائد بھی رکھتا ہے۔ خوشبو لیموں کی خوشبو مچھروں کو دور بھگاتی ہے۔ یہ مچھروں کے لئے ناپسندیدہ ہوتی ہے اور مچھروں کو بھگانے میں مددگار ثابت ہوتی ہے۔ اینٹی سیپٹک خصوصیات لیموں میں موجود اینٹی سیپٹک خصوصیات مچھروں کو دور رکھنے میں مددگار ثابت ہوتی ہیں۔ یہ مچھروں کے کاٹنے سے بچانے میں بھی مددگار ثابت ہوتی ہیں۔ لونگ کے فوائد لونگ بھی ایک قدرتی جزو ہے جو مختلف طبی فوائد سے بھرپور ہوتا ہے۔ یہ نہ صرف کھانوں میں ذائقہ بڑھانے کے لئے استعمال ہوتا ہے بلکہ مختلف طبی فوائد بھی رکھتا ہے۔ اینٹی بیکٹیریل خصوصیات لونگ میں موجود اینٹی بیکٹیریل خصوصیات مچھروں کو دور بھگاتی ہیں۔ یہ مچھروں کے لئے ناپسندیدہ ہوتی ہ��ں اور مچھروں کو بھگانے میں مددگار ثابت ہوتی ہیں۔ خوشبو لونگ کی خوشبو بھی مچھروں کو دور بھگاتی ہے۔ یہ خوشبو مچھروں کے لئے ناپسندیدہ ہوتی ہے اور مچھروں کو بھگانے میں مددگار ثابت ہوتی ہے۔ لیموں اور لونگ کا مکسچر لیموں اور لونگ کا مکسچر ایک قدرتی اور مؤثر طریقہ ہے جس سے ڈینگی مچھر بھگایا جا سکتا ہے۔ یہ مکسچر مچھروں کے لئے ناپسندیدہ ہوتا ہے اور انہیں دور بھگانے میں مددگار ثابت ہوتا ہے۔ مکسچر بنانے کا طریقہ لیموں اور لونگ کا مکسچر بنانا بہت آسان ہے اور اس کے لئے صرف چند اجزاء کی ضرورت ہوتی ہے۔ یہاں ایک آسان اور مؤثر طریقہ درج ذیل ہے: اجزاء – 1 عدد لیموں – چند لونگ طریقہ کار 1. لیموں کو دو حصوں میں کاٹ لیں۔ 2. لونگ کو لیموں کے اندر دبا کر لگا لیں۔ 3. تیار مکسچر کو کمرے میں رکھ دیں۔ مکسچر کا استعمال کیسے کریں لیموں اور لونگ کا مکسچر استعمال کرنا بہت آسان ہے۔ یہاں ایک آسان اور مؤثر طریقہ درج ذیل ہے: 1. تیار مکسچر کو کمرے میں رکھیں جہاں آپ مچھروں کو بھگانا چاہتے ہیں۔ 2. مکسچر کو ہر چند دنوں بعد نیا بنائیں تاکہ اس کی تاثیر برقرار رہے۔ لیموں اور لونگ کے مزید فوائد لیموں اور لونگ نہ صرف مچھروں کو بھگانے میں مددگار ثابت ہوتے ہیں بلکہ ان کے دیگر فوائد بھی ہیں جو جسم کی عمومی صحت کے لئے فائدہ مند ہوتے ہیں۔ اینٹی بیکٹیریل خصوصیات لیموں اور لونگ میں موجود اینٹی بیکٹیریل خصوصیات جسم کی صحت کو بہتر بناتی ہیں اور مختلف بیماریوں سے بچاتی ہیں۔ خوشبو لیموں اور لونگ کی خوشبو کمرے کو تازگی بخشتی ہے اور ماحول کو خوشگوار بناتی ہے۔ اینٹی سیپٹک خصوصیات لیموں اور لونگ میں موجود اینٹی سیپٹک خصوصیات جسم کی صحت کو بہتر بناتی ہیں اور مختلف بیماریوں سے بچاتی ہیں۔ احتیاطی تدابیر اگرچہ لیموں اور لونگ ڈینگی مچھر بھگانے کے لئے بہت مفید ہیں، مگر ان کا استعمال کرتے وقت کچھ احتیاطی تدابیر اختیار کرنا ضروری ہے: الرجی اگر آپ کو لیموں یا لونگ سے الرجی ہے تو ان کا استعمال نہ کریں۔ الرجی کی صورت میں فوراً استعمال بند کریں اور ڈاکٹر سے مشورہ کریں۔ صحیح مقدار لیموں اور لونگ کا زیادہ مقدار میں استعمال نہ کریں۔ ہمیشہ متوازن مقدار میں استعمال کریں۔ صحیح مواد ہمیشہ تازہ اور خالص لیموں اور لونگ استعمال کریں۔ خراب یا باسی اجزاء صحت کے لئے نقصان دہ ہو سکتے ہیں۔ ڈینگی سے بچاؤ کے دیگر طریقے لیموں اور لونگ کے علاوہ بھی کچھ دیگر طریقے ہیں جو ڈینگی مچھر بھگانے میں مددگار ثابت ہو سکتے ہیں۔ یہاں چند اہم طریقے درج ذیل ہیں: مچھر دانی کا استعمال مچھر دانی کا استعمال کریں تاکہ مچھر آپ کے قریب نہ آئیں۔ مچھر دانی آپ کو مچھروں کے کاٹنے سے بچاتی ہے۔ پانی کی نکاسی اپنے آس پاس کے پانی کی نکاسی کریں تاکہ مچھروں کی پیداوار کم ہو۔ مچھر کھڑے پانی میں انڈے دیتے ہیں۔ مچھر مار دواوں کا استعمال مچھر مار دواوں کا استعمال کریں تاکہ مچھر آپ کے قریب نہ آئیں۔ مگر ان دواوں کا استعمال احتیاط سے کریں کیونکہ یہ انسانی صحت کے لئے نقصان دہ ہو سکتی ہیں۔ خلاصہ لیموں اور لونگ ڈینگی مچھر بھگانے کے لئے ایک قدرتی اور مؤثر طریقہ ہیں۔ ان کا استعمال مچھروں کو دور بھگاتا ہے اور ڈینگی بخار سے بچاؤ میں مددگار ثابت ہوتا ہے۔ لیموں اور لونگ کا مکسچر بنانا بہت آسان ہے اور اسے مختلف طریقوں سے استعمال کیا جا سکتا ہے۔ تاہم، ان کا استعمال کرتے وقت احتیاطی تدابیر اختیار کرنا بھی ضروری ہے۔

[perieducation]

Dengue Awareness

Clean, Drain and Cover - Keep Dengue Out

To avoid Dengue Fever, clean your environment, drain water regularly and cover things around your environment to avoid water stagnation.

Spread Dengue Awareness

WE PERI Institute of Technology

[townpostin]

Dengue awareness: Know the symptoms and prevention tips

Understanding dengue symptoms and following preventive measures is crucial to stay safe from this mosquito-borne disease. Dengue fever, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, requires vigilance in symptoms and prevention, as cases continue to rise. Dr. Manish Kumar Consultant, Medical Indoor Services, Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur Dengue fever, also known as break-bone fever, is a viral infection…

[healthyhubeveryday]

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness spread by the dengue virus that presents as a severe flu-like illness. The Aedes mosquito is both the primary vector of the disease and the primary cause of fever.

[harmeet-saggi]

https://www.secondmedic.com/blogs/warning-signs-of-dengue-recognizing-symptoms-and-taking-precautions

[roshni99]

🦟 Dengue Awareness Alert! Learn how to protect yourself from the menace of dengue with these 5 vital tips: 1️⃣ **Mosquito Repellents:** Arm yourself with effective mosquito repellents to keep these tiny terrors at bay! 💪 2️⃣ **Eliminate Stagnant Water:** Break the breeding cycle by ensuring there's no stagnant water around - mosquitoes love it! 🚫 3️⃣ **Wear Protective Clothing:** Dress smart to reduce skin exposure and minimize your risk of mosquito bites. 🛡️ 4️⃣ **Regular Home Cleanup:** A clean home is a safer home. Regularly clean and declutter to discourage mosquito habitation. 🧹 5️⃣ **Spread Awareness:** Share these tips with your community, because awareness is our best defense against dengue! 📢 Let's unite to fight dengue and create a safer, healthier environment for all. 🌍💙 #DenguePrevention #HealthAndSafety #CommunityAwareness #FightDengue #StaySafe #PublicHealth #wellnesswednesdays For more information, visit: https://www.raphacure.com For professional support and essential tools, don't forget to download our mobile app: 📲 Android: http://bit.ly/3JACQOb 🍏 Apple: https://apple.co/3I0QKbe 🌟🤩 dengue fever treatment dengue tips in home dengue fever tips dr richard mata iwas dengue tips dengue safety tips dengue fever tips dengue prevention tips dengue protection tips dengue,dengue awareness,dengue fever,dengue fever treatment,dengue symptoms,dengue treatment,dengue fever symptoms,causes of dengue,dengue mosquito,prevention of dengue,dengue fever awareness,dengue fever virus,dengue awareness month,what is dengue fever,dengue fever diagnosis,dengue prevention,dengue signs and symptoms,dengue fever vaccine,dengue alert,dengue fever lesson,awareness post,publice awareness,dengue virus,dengue shock syndrome dengue ke lakshan dengue fever symptoms dengue me kya khana chahiye dengue dengue machar kaisa hota hai dengue ka ilaj dengue fever symptoms tamil 2023 dengue fever dengue jorer lokkhon dengue fever symptoms in telugu dengue ke lakshan kya hai dengue mosa dekhte kemon dengue symptoms in bengali

[neoruby-loves-ut-aus]

My health journey:

It's been 2 years I'm still suffering from a disease called Anaemia (critically low iron in blood or like almost no blood) but mildly and yesterday my mom's cholesterol is high and it's been 9 or 8 years my dad has diabetes and it's been like many years my mom is suffering from Thyroid. In 2018, both my and I were caught with Dengue but eventually survived. My grandmother died due to slow death of dialysis because of kidney failure (she's been released from pain because her brain malfunctioned) last year. I am rarely eating sweets because there is 99% chance that I might get diabetes due to heredity as my grandparents suffered from diabetes, my father and my uncle are suffering so my father tries his best to not let me have the same fate as him.

It might sound like a guilt-trip but no, I'm not guilt-tripping. I shared this to make people confident and successful in every way forgetting their troubles. Hope you understand, bye and have a great day.

Warning⚠️: Sugar or diabetes is a silent killer, that killed my grandma. So this is just an awareness.

[drinksumtea-blog]

A Dreadful Week

By: Aravellah Cervantes

          Weak body. Redness of the skin. Vomit. Rashes. One of the many fever-related symptoms I never thought I'd encounter during high school. How would you imagine if you found out you only had a count of 44 platelets left in your body, but you survived? Every time the word 'dengue' appears, it takes me back to the past, still vivid in my mind. Dengue, the fever that made me dread whenever I stopped by the hospital and that I desired would never return.

          I recalled that it was July, and the weather was sunny with a mix of chilly air caused by recent rain. A typical day at school except for the afternoon, when a headache suddenly struck me. My mother initially thought it was just an ordinary headache that could be treated with rest and medication. After one day of observation, the headache remained constant, making me significantly weaker and tired, and my temperature remained at 38 °C, and Mom brought me to the hospital. The doctor initially suspected dengue because most patients handled at that time were suffering from the virus. Even the ward where I was confined had all dengue virus patients, with two teenagers in the intensive-care unit (ICU).

          According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. The primary vectors that transmit the disease are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and, to a lesser extent, Ae. albopictus. Dengue commonly appears in tropical and subtropical climates, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas. Sometimes it is hard to believe how a tiny insect like a mosquito leeching off human blood could have a tremendous effect on the body.

          According to data from the governor's office, there were 9,392 annual dengue cases in the province of Iloilo in 2016. It was designated as the third year in the three-year cycle of the dengue upsurge. The doctor informed my mother that I only have 44 platelets in my body, which means that I'll be prone to bleeding, which could be fatal. Afterward, he advised me to refrain from brushing my teeth and to avoid foods with hues (such as brown and red) that may be mistaken for blood when I have my discharge. I'm still relieved that I did not have a blood transfusion, as this is something I never wanted to undergo.

          Several symptoms appeared during my stay, including headaches, rashes, muscle pain, and lethargy. To monitor me, the nurses had to draw blood every six hours. While fighting dengue, I also had a menstrual period and a potassium deficiency, which was undesirable. I've lost my appetite; the soft meal my mother buys for me, and even the hospital ration, aren't helping because I vomit between every bite. I depended primarily on the dextrose drip. My mother was very concerned about me; all I could do was lie in bed, hoping and praying that I would recover quickly. It was my first time experiencing that phenomenon, and maybe the fear and anxiety of thinking that I may be on the verge of life added to my burden. It was pretty frightening because, to this day, there is no cure, only prevention, and alternatives. The doctor advised that because a patient suffering from dengue fever would lose appetite and vomit frequently, especially when ingesting, it is best to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

          I was stressed out every day during my stay, a depressing situation. I can see why some people despise staying much longer. In my case, I had to spend time in the hospital for around ten days due to some circumstances, but I surmounted them all. My body also underwent significant changes. When I finally returned home, it took me at least three days to regain my strength, particularly in my legs, which had been unable to walk due to muscle pain and discomfort impacted by dengue. According to WHO, "Recovery from infection is believed to provide lifelong immunity against that serotype. However, cross-immunity to the other serotypes after recovery is only partial and temporary. Subsequent infections (secondary infection) by other serotypes increase the risk of developing severe dengue" (Dengue and Severe Dengue, 2022). Although I had acquired antibodies from dengue, I am still prone to three more dengue viruses. The more times the virus appears in a person's body, the more dangerous its effect is on the body. Indeed, it was a tough battle.

          Dengue fever is still a significant health concern and a threat to humanity. It is globally widespread and appears as a disease outbreak in almost all tropical regions at reasonable times and locations. Getting dengue fever wasn't what I had hoped for during my first two months of high school, but it changed my life. It made me more aware of my surroundings and made me take extra care of my body because I never know what lies ahead. Dengue fever may be different for some people than it was for me, but it is a fever that I would avoid for the entirety of my life. It took a toll on my physical, emotional, and mental health. It gave me a new perspective and made me realize that this virus is no small matter, especially since there remains no cure.

______________________________________________________________

REFERENCES:

Balita Halin Sa Kapitolyo. (2022, March 3). Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. issued Executive Order No. 190 placing the entire province of Iloilo under Alert Level 5 Kontra Dengue. https://www.facebook.com/100064830275341/posts/pfbid023CsR84X9K9QXxLXfQrZKXZd3rTb6AY4YNjnvvms7CRTgvXVJYiqPhENwZcSWMeQMl/?mibextid=cr9u03

Dengue and severe dengue. (2022, February 14). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue

[vilcart]

Stay Alert and Fight "DENGUE"

Keep Your Surrounding Clean

ಡೆಂಗ್ಯೂ ರೋಗದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಜಾಗರೂಕರಾಗಿರಿ

ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸುತ್ತಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ಪರಿಸರವನ್ನು ಸ್ವಚ್ಛವಾಗಿಡಿ.

[diseasecure]

#Dengue #alert (End)

Due to the decrease in the number of #blood platelets in #Dengue, the process of blood clotting is greatly damaged. In this case, eating foods that are high in #vitamin-K, such as spinach, broccoli, meat, especially pigeon meat, liver, beans, cheese, etc., increases the chances of getting well quickly.

#Dengue disease patient's mouth taste of food is reduced. So the patient can start with different types of soups, thin khichuri, soft food etc. so that he can eat food easily and to facilitate digestion. Foods rich in oil and spices should be avoided so as not to cause stomach gas or indigestion.

#In case of diabetic and kidney disease patients, extra precautions must be followed. Depending on the disease, the patient's diet must be different. Depending on the patient's daily blood test results, physical condition, likes and dislikes, food should be prepared so that the patient can eat according to his taste and recover quickly.

Finish.

(Note: This is only a health awareness post. Please, Consult with a registered medical practitioner for any kind of physical problem if you may have.)

(N.B. To write this article, the necessary information has been collected from the writings of many domestic and foreign expert doctors and experienced experts in the related fields. I sincerely express my gratitude to all those expert doctors and writers with experience in related matters. If I have unintentionally mentioned any information wrongly or distortedly, I humbly apologize to everyone including the readers.)

[banglakhobor]

বাড়ছে ডেঙ্গুর প্রকোপ, কীভাবে সতর্ক থাকবেন? ডাঃ অশোক কুমার নন্দীর পরামর্শ

Dengue Awareness Video: বাড়ছে ডেঙ্গুর প্রকোপ, কীভাবে সতর্ক থাকবেন? ডাঃ অশোক কুমার নন্দীর পরামর্শ Source link

[townpostin]

Campaign Launched to Prevent Dengue and Chikungunya in Jamshedpur

Filariasis Department conducts door-to-door spraying and awareness drive to protect residents from dengue and chikungunya. To prevent the spread of dengue and chikungunya during the monsoon, a special campaign is being run in urban and block areas of Jamshedpur. JAMSHEDPUR – The Filariasis Department is conducting a door-to-door campaign to prevent dengue and chikungunya during the monsoon. The…

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

There could be a lot more here about non-pharmaceutical interventions like masking, but some pretty good analysis of the climate of vaccine "skepticism" and disease minimizing we live in.

By David Quammen

Health officials would like to remind you that we are entering that time of the year still quaintly known as flu season. That means autumn to spring. Kids go to school, adults spend more time gathered indoors, people breathe and speak and sneeze and cough at one another, and the latest influenza virus spreads widely.

The reason flu season seems a quaint idea is that we now hear about and maybe worry about so many viruses all year. And well we should.

What if there’s a simultaneous surge of Covid and seasonal flu this autumn? What if infections of respiratory syncytial virus, known as R.S.V., peak at unusual levels, as they did in the 2022-23 season? What if the new strain of mpox, which is especially virulent, continues spreading in Africa and beyond? What if this year’s flu combines with the dreaded H5N1 bird flu and emerges as a nightmare flu? What if a novel virus destined to be called SARS-CoV-3 emerges from a horseshoe bat in a rural village somewhere, gains a few key mutations and comes barreling through the world’s airports?

Oy vey and déjà vu. It’s always virus season now. Maybe none of those worst-case scenarios will happen, but to assume so is to count on fool’s luck.

The notion of flu season is a relic of times when one virus could transfix our response efforts and dominate our collective consciousness. Influenza in 1918. H.I.V. in 1980s and ’90s. Ebola in 2014. We can no longer afford to react on a case-by-case basis. Today we need a broader vision. We need personal, governmental and technological responses that address the full spectrum of viruses that disrupt our lives.

Because they will continue to disrupt our lives. We live amid viruses. We eat them. We breathe them. We touch them on doorknobs and cafeteria trays. All the wild and domestic animals with which we interact, from mosquitoes to mice to the sparrows on the bird feeder and the monkeys in the temple gardens, carry their own freights of them in wondrous variety. Most of these viruses have no chance of infecting a human, but many do. The best way to protect yourself and your family is just what health agencies recommend: Get the vaccines if reputable ones exist.

The best way to help protect your community, your country and the rest of humanity is a more complex proposition. The answers range from public health measures such as better virus surveillance to ending our bone-headed science denialism and finally supporting pandemic preparedness. But it’s not my purpose to unpack those big topics in this small spurt of words.

My purpose is more modest: to refresh your awareness of something you can’t see, not without the help of an electron microscope. Even the human genome contains a sizable portion — roughly 8 percent of it — that was once the genomes of ancient retroviruses, acquired and internalized by our ancestors in the course of infections.

Viruses of concern to humans come and go on various schedules. American dairy cows began their flu season this year around March 25, when the first infections with bird flu were reported in herds in Kansas and Texas. Measles outbreaks tend to be seasonal but more complex. In the tropics they may peak in the dry season, while in temperate climates measles correlates more with school schedules. And now that warmer temperatures are welcoming tropical mosquitoes farther north and south — including ones that transmit viral diseases like yellow fever and dengue — people in Florida and Italy may find that their worst virus season is summer. Climate change is the new force applied to the viral calendar.

Each year another seasonal vaccine is offered because influenza viruses evolve and mix continuously; their genomes entangle like shape-shifting snakes. The most concerning threat is different each year. This year’s flu vaccine in the United States is what’s called trivalent, or three-powered, meaning it contains elements from three different influenza viruses, all of which are circulating and any of which may prove most pervasive and problematic. Manufacturing flu vaccines takes months, so calculated decisions, mixing science and foresight, must be made long before autumn. Increasing efforts to produce even more kinds of vaccines, including some that target multiple virus strains, signal scientific awareness of the point I’m trying to make: We know a virus might get us, tomorrow or next season, but we can’t say which.

Hence the need for a universal flu vaccine, such as one that’s now in clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health. Hence the need for a universal coronavirus vaccine, toward which scientists at the California Institute of Technology, among other places, are working. Hence the need to create combination vaccines that protect against Covid-19 and influenza in one shot, which are also under development in the United States, China and elsewhere. Hence the need to improve ventilation systems for public and private buildings, which can significantly reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.

These are urgent challenges, at which laboratories and public health authorities all over the world are laboring busily. Science takes time; applying its findings takes patience. Persuading the public to adopt behavioral changes — some of which involve a prick in the arm, some of which require placing community welfare on a level with individual independence — is a task that may seem almost Sisyphean, but it remains crucial and doable.

Flu season in America is no illusory concept, and I don’t mean to deride it, merely to expand it. Get the jab if you’re not disqualified by special health conditions. Don’t disqualify yourself by indifference or groundless suspicions. But bear in mind that virus season doesn’t end with the first swallows of spring. We’re in it for the duration.

[rjzimmerman]

Anthony Fauci: A Mosquito in My Backyard Made Me the Sickest I’ve Ever Been. (New York Times)

Excerpt from this New York Times Op-Ed by Anthony Fauci:

There is no treatment for West Nile virus disease, and I was left to deal with its toll on my body. It was terrifying. I could not swing my legs over the side of the bed to sit up without help from my wife and three daughters. I could not stand up without assistance and certainly could not walk. A very scary part of the ordeal was the effect on my cognition. I was disoriented, unable to remember certain words, asking questions of my family that I should have known the answers to. I was afraid that I would never recover and return to normal.

Fortunately, over a period of a few weeks slow improvement began. I was able to walk with a walker and then without any assistance. Now I can walk a few miles per day with only minimal fatigue, and my cognitive issues have completely resolved. I am on my way to a total recovery, but it has been a harrowing experience.

I tell my story because West Nile virus is a disease that, for many people, can have devastating and permanent consequences. At my age of 83, I was at risk of permanent neurological impairment and even death. Yet the public may be unaware of the danger of this disease and that it continues to spread across the United States; it has been identified in 46 states this year. Unfortunately, very little is being done about it from scientific and public awareness perspectives.

West Nile virus belongs to the family of flaviviruses that also includes yellow fever and dengue viruses. It was first detected in the United States in the New York City area in 1999, most likely introduced from the Middle East or parts of Africa where it is prevalent. Mosquitoes get the virus from infected birds, and then pass the virus on to humans by a bite. West Nile virus infection is by far the most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States: Since 1999, about 60,000 cases have been reported. The actual number of infections is surely higher, no doubt in the millions, since many cases are not reported because infections are often asymptomatic or are confused with other common maladies such as flu. Among the reported cases in the United States, more than 30,000 have had neurological symptoms like mine, resulting in about 23,000 hospitalizations and close to 3,000 deaths.

As climate change makes it easier for mosquitoes to proliferate in many places, West Nile virus disease as well as other mosquito-borne illnesses are emerging as greater threats in this country and elsewhere. Yet, efforts to develop a vaccine or treatment for this illness are modest compared with those for other diseases of public health importance.

So, how do we address this emerging public health threat? Vaccine development must go forward; however, to be successful, clinical trials must be international and include countries with a consistent and large number of cases each year. The pathway to a vaccine cannot be in the United States alone. Global public-private partnerships between the N.I.H. and the drug industry have historically proved successful in the development of a number of important vaccines such as those against hepatitis B and Covid. There is no reason this shouldn’t also be the case for a West Nile virus vaccine.

The same holds true for the development of antiviral drugs. There is no insurmountable scientific obstacle to developing safe and effective antiviral drugs for West Nile virus infection. The pharmaceutical industry in collaboration with the N.I.H. and other partners had remarkable success in developing effective drugs for other emerging viral infections. Examples include lifesaving drugs for H.I.V. infection, therapies for hepatitis C infection and useful drugs for Covid-19 and influenza. With international research partnerships and political will spurred by an engaged activist community such as we have seen with H.I.V. and now long Covid, West Nile virus treatments and prevention tools should be within our grasp.