My recent experience with Dengue Fever in Ajijic

My recent experience with Dengue Fever lakeside...

I drove to Ajijic from San Miguel de Allende (five hours) this past Sunday for a week's stay. Within hours I became unusually tired and progressively more and more tired and achy all over by the next day. I could hardly walk, had intense joint pain, blurred vision, and a mild headache.

The symptoms in general, are similar to the worst kind of bad flu but with no intestinal problems. I was taken to Dr Leon and his new assisting doctor, Sam, a very sharp guy from Dallas Texas. He and Dr Leon did the exam and blood testing while I laid on the gurney, in severe pain, incredibly weak, and nearly passed out. Within an hour or so I had the diagnosis.

I have Dengue Fever, likely from an infected mosquito bite a week earlier in San Miguel de Allende. It takes a week for the symptoms to show.

Fortunately may case appears to be mild. The telltale blood cell counts are the indicators but mine are borderline, so I should be on the mend in a week or two. There is no cure or hardcore drug treatment. Time and a strong bodily defense mechanism is what it takes.

While I type this I'm still very tired and achy but am not getting any worse so I am thankful. I am taking pain killers and drinking a lot of fluids as prescribed.

I am so grateful for the incredibly fast response and thorough actions by Dr Leon, Dr Sam, the nurse staff and everyone else there for that matter. A phone call ahead had alerted them I was coming in. Within minutes the drip IV and blood tests were underway. And they were by my side the whole time.

More information about Dengue Fever...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever

Steve

Glad you are on the mend, Steve.

I noticed this mention in the link you provided:
"Dengue virus is primarily transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, particularly A. aegypti. These mosquitoes usually live between the latitudes of 35° North and 35° South below an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft)."

Suggesting that you didn't get the bite in SMA. Had you travelled anywhere else in the 7 - 10 days prior to taking the drive to Ajijic?

No other travel. San Miguel de Allende does has the Dengue Fever carrier mosquito and has had mild outbreaks in the past. So does the Lake Chapala area.

San Miguel conducts an aggressive mosquito abatement effort, spraying by use of roving spray trucks at night. They also employ house-to-house searches for possible breeding locations like decorative non-flowing water ponds and counsel homeowners on prevention efforts and provide handouts for awareness training.

At MD Travel Health there is a list Dengue Fever outbreaks all over Mexico including reports of outbreaks in Jalisco and Guadalajara.

MD Travel Health Mexico

Hmmm, other post disappeared, so much for multitasking.

Had it twice last year Steve, it's no joke. They don't call it breakbone fever for nothing.

Maybe pick up some As Cor in case of really low Blood Pressure. 15 drops in water. It happened to me while on a trip to Guanajuato and I really though I was having a heart attack.

It can take 6 months for the symptoms to disappear completely. In the meantime they get further apart and less intense. Probably didn't want to hear that, but hey, better to know.

Where I live in the Torreón area, we have dengue problems even though we are at 3688 ft / 1124 m and on a desert.

I had dengue in Manzanillo many years ago, It sure ruined my vacation.

Hmmm - another thing to check!

Anybody know if "mosquito dunks" [Bacillus thuringiensis] are available locally? They are available at Home Depot here - are they carried Lakeside?

Hey Steve, glad you're recovering. Get well soon!

Axixic:

The problem with mosquitoes and other somewhat nasty animals is that they fail to read the travel guides on where they are supposed to visit. I remember years ago when living in Steamboat Springs, CO, the locals claimed one didn't have to worry about rattlesnakes at that altitude. I found out years later that this generalization may have been true that far north but here in NM, I have seen them well above 6,700'.

Axixic wrote:Hmmm - another thing to check!

Anybody know if "mosquito dunks" [Bacillus thuringiensis] are available locally? They are available at Home Depot here - are they carried Lakeside?

Don't know what you call them here, but the health department supplies you with them free, specially effective against aedes aegypti mosquitos. It's an oily substance since chlorine doesn't work. They will come out and survey the property, then do their thing.

The ones I've used in the past (from Home Depot) were dried disks that you drop in standing water. No harm to animals or plants just prevents larvae from 'hatching" (if that's the right word). Seem to work.

I think I have a package of them somewhere - I'll try to remember to pack them (along with about a million other things I have to pack.)

Get well soon Steve.

Steve - Get well soon.

FYI for those living in Ajijic. This is the FIRST time in my 11 years here that I have seen mosquitos in Los Arroyos Sur. And they can get in the house too, so keep your doors closed and screens in good condition.

Sorry John I accidentally buzzed them in.........jajaja.

Found a partial pack (4) of the mosquito dunks so I've earmarked them for packing as my rental in Floresta has a fountain in the front patio area and mozzies love me.

A mozzie will fly past 50 other people to get to me; strangers used to invite me camping just so they wouldn't get bit.

Axixic wrote:Found a partial pack (4) of the mosquito dunks so I've earmarked them for packing as my rental in Floresta has a fountain in the front patio area and mozzies love me.

A mozzie will fly past 50 other people to get to me; strangers used to invite me camping just so they wouldn't get bit.

You won't need them if you keep your fountain running. They can't breed in moving water. If you aren't going to run your fountain, drain it completely.

johninajijic wrote:You won't need them if you keep your fountain running. They can't breed in moving water. If you aren't going to run your fountain, drain it completely.

Problem being that rain will likely re-fill it and keeping it drained will require diligence.

A bottle of Clorox bleach (or heavy dose of pool chlorine) will take care of that water too........

I'd worry about the potential impact on plant and animal life that way, though. I don't know if the dog will be tempted to take a slurp from the fountain but would not put it past him.

I dunno about the dog, but our big three tiered fountain is also the local bird spa.
They drink as well as bathe in it...........We use clorox to prevent it from becoming a mosquito hatchery. What looks like the same batch of birds visit daily, little towels over their arms as they wait their turns on the wall........so it doesn't seem to be harmful. Naturally, the dosage matters.

CanuckBob wrote:A bottle of Clorox bleach (or heavy dose of pool chlorine) will take care of that water too........

Chlorine may work on some things, but on that pesky dengue mosquito, not a chance, those guys are tough!!

We have three fountain troughs that fill up during the rainy season, and a birdbath, which has been turned over now so it looks more like a mushroom. We really must get the health department to do the rounds before I get bitten again.

I didn't realize there was a particular breed that carry dengue. I thought all mosquitoes down here could carry it.

Please let us know when you find something that will work on the dengue skeeter.

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CB:
You have been gonged for not reading the link provided by Steve Miller!

gringal wrote:Please let us know when you find something that will work on the dengue skeeter.

A 2006 Field Evaluation of Bacillus thuringiensis against Aedes mosquitoes showed a percentage of reduction
between 80 to 100% (source: PDF File)

So I think I will pack my "mosquito dunks" and hope to find a local source when they are used up.