Good afternoon GHCDS families,
We have our first case of dengue fever within our student population. Dengue is transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes of the Aedes species. While one case does not mean an outbreak on campus, this is a great opportunity to encourage all of our families to practice preventive measures. Prevention is targeted at limiting exposure to mosquitoes. Here on campus, we are switching to AC use only so doors and windows can remain closed, have bug spray available to students when outside, and continue to monitor for sources of standing water. Yesterday, the DOH was on campus assessing any areas of potential risk and provided larvicide dunks to treat areas of concern.
Ways you can help your child defend against mosquito bites are to wear loose fitting clothing with long sleeves and pants when outside, especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are especially active. However, please do keep in mind that mosquitoes can bite during the day or night. Use bug spray before leaving your house on clothes and exposed skin. Below you will find a link to EPA recommended repellants. Assess your homes and yards for holes in screens and standing water where they hatch. Use mosquito nets over beds if you can’t keep mosquitoes out of the home.
I’d like to reassure you that a mosquito biting an infected individual is not able to immediately infect the next person they bite, it takes time (according to the WHO, about 8-12 days) for the mosquito to get infected and then be able to transmit. However, once a mosquito is infected it is able to spread dengue for the remainder of its lifespan, which is about a month. Humans can transmit dengue to mosquitoes while viremic, about 2 days prior to symptom development and up to 7 days after the start of symptoms. During this time you should prevent mosquitoes from biting you so as not to continue the cycle of transmission.
There are 4 strains of dengue, once you’ve been infected with one you won’t be reinfected with the same strain. And not everyone infected will be symptomatic. For those who do become symptomatic, symptoms generally develop 4-10 days after getting bit by an infected mosquito. The classic symptoms include fever, body aches (hence the nickname “break-bone fever”), rash, pain behind the eyes, nausea, and vomiting. There are no specific treatments for dengue outside of supportive measures to treat symptoms. The severe form of dengue is hemorrhagic fever, if any signs of severe symptoms your child must be assessed by your doctor. Due to the potential of hemorrhagic fever, acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) is the recommended antipyretic and can also be used for pain relief. If you suspect your child may have dengue, please seek medical attention from their pediatrician for guidance. Your doctor may refer you for dengue testing to determine if you have an active case. Currently, St. Croix Clinical Labs and the JFL hospital lab have the ability to test for dengue.
For more information on Dengue:
https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/
https://www.who.int/news-room/
https://www.epa.gov/insect-
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Clarissa Cooper, RN
School Nurse
Good Hope Country Day School
(340) 778-1974 Ext: 2109