Grandfather felt like his physique was ‘collapsing’ on account of ‘horrific’ an infection

Jun 15, 2023 at 7:03 AM

A eager traveller has shared particulars of his “horrific” expertise with dengue fever within the hopes of alerting others to the risks.

Grandfather-of-one Ken Burnett initially wasn’t too involved when he observed he had been bitten just a few instances whereas on vacation within the Maldives.

The 72-year-old had not heard of any mosquito-borne viruses within the space, and had due to this fact not taken any precautionary measures.

Ken, from Huntingfield in Suffolk, stated: “I had three bites on my leg, just above the knee. They were quite close together and fairly big – leaving quite a noticeable mark on my skin.

“I’d heard about it [dengue fever] and knew how serious it could be, but never fully appreciated what it would be like to get it or thought I’d be someone who would ever catch it.”

However, not lengthy after touchdown again house he turned unwell.

“I didn’t feel 100 percent right but returned to work anyway, thinking it might just be because of the long journey home,” he stated.

By the top of the day, Ken had quickly deteriorated.

He defined: “It’s quite horrific – my skin started to change colour, I was in a considerable amount of pain – my bones felt like they were being crushed and I later learned dengue is known as ‘break bone fever’.

“I felt like I was on fire – my temperature had shot up so much.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), dengue fever is the fastest-spreading mosquito-borne disease in the world.

In 2019 WHO listed it as one of many high ten threats to world well being.

It is handed to individuals via the bites of contaminated mosquitoes mostly present in tropical and sub-tropical climates – a lot of that are in style vacation locations.

Ken felt so unwell his spouse took him to the hospital, the place he was seen by a tropical drugs specialist who instructed him that he had dengue.

The former lecturer and guide stated: “I couldn’t believe it when they told me there was nothing they could do for me, so I had no other option but to go home to bed, rest and hopefully make a speedy recovery at home.

“It’s funny how much your body can change. For the next 10 days I couldn’t eat anything, nor concentrate.

“You feel like your body is collapsing, it’s extremely painful and I had absolutely no energy – I didn’t move from my bed the whole time other than to use the bathroom.”

After 10 days in mattress, Ken lastly started to get better. He stated, “My fever passed, the brain fog lifted and my skin went back to normal, so I started to feel more like myself again.”

The dad-of-two added: “Contracting dengue hasn’t left any lasting damage, but I do find myself taking more steps to look after my health now before I travel abroad.

“I won’t step on a plane without researching where I’m going first, plus I will always have a full bottle of mosquito repellent packed in my suitcase just in case.”

Dengue fever doesn’t all the time current with signs, nonetheless, the commonest indicators are:

A excessive temperature
A extreme headache
Pain behind your eyes
Muscle and joint ache
Feeling or being sick
Swollen glands
A blotchy rash made up of flat or barely raised spots – this will have an effect on massive areas of your physique.

If you expertise these signs after travelling to a rustic the place dengue is discovered the NHS recommends reserving an pressing GP appointment or calling 111.

In extreme instances it might probably trigger:

Severe tummy ache
Repeatedly being sick
Fast respiratory
Bleeding gums or nostril
Extreme tiredness (fatigue)
Being unable to calm down (restlessness)
Blood in your vomit or poo.

If you expertise any of those indicators after travelling it’s best to name 999 or go to A&E.

To test whether or not a rustic you might be travelling to is a dengue epistemic space you need to use Takeda’s new Explore Uninterrupted interactive map on-line.