Tropical Disease Warning: Dengue on the Rise

Who doesn't dream of a tropical vacation?  Sunshine, beaches, rain forests, warm weather, and lots of interesting wildlife.  What no one ever dreams of is becoming ill on vacation!  Of course there are dangers in the tropics, but you are more likely to get in a car crash in a major city than to be eaten by a crocodile or bitten by a snake in the tropics.  One of the biggest threats to travelers by car rental in tropical regions is completely silent and virtually unseen: Dengue Fever, a serious infectious disease caused by the dengue virus and spread through mosquitos.

Symptoms of Dengue range from a mild fever for 2 or more days to high fevers lasting up to 7 days, extreme joint and muscle pain, headache, pain behind the eyelids, and a skin rash.  In very severe cases Dengue can turn into the Hemorrhagic Fever.  Potentially fatal if left untreated, Dengue is most dangerous in children and causes an estimated 25,000 deaths per year in the roughly 50 to 100 million infections throughout the tropical region of the world.

However, Dengue isn't new and neither are infectious diseases, which exist in all parts of the world.  The risk of Dengue Fever need not ruin your plans for a tropical vacation by car rental this year if you know how to take precautions preventative measures.  Bug Spray on your skin and clothing is preventative measure any time you are visiting the tropics, especially in heavily populated where outbreaks spread more quickly (by a mosquito biting one infected person, then biting and infecting another).  It is also a good idea to sleep with a mosquito net over your bed, especially the beds of small children.  One very interesting prophylactic measure suggested by the Costa Rica Star is the ingestion of Papaya seeds.  Papaya is delicious, though the seeds are rather bitter.  

Awareness is key, and as long as you take preventative measures you can still have an excellent vacation in the tropics with a cheap car rental from CarHireX.com.