Dengue Fever Outbreak

The worst form of the fever can cause severe hemorrhaging from the nose and ears, as the disease eats away at the circulatory system and internal organs.

SHOOT: The writer of this article once again commits that stupid mistake of saying: don't worry about swine flu, this is worse. It's like a smoker arguing that alcohol is worse and vice versa. Why have such a compartmentalised view of things. Both these epidemics are important, and response justified.

clipped from www.simplygreen.co.za While the world quivers over a potential Swine Flu pandemic, a far deadlier outbreak of dengue fever has gone comparatively under-reported in South America and Australia. Hundreds of thousands have been infected in South America, and in Australia the outbreak is being called the worst seen in 50 years. While the swine flu scare may be an overreaction in comparison, both outbreaks do highlight a clear link between environmental degradation and the spread of disease. By the time all is said and done, this year�s dengue fever outbreak in South America might be considered one of the worst viral epidemics ever recorded. In Bolivia alone, there were at least 55,000 suspected cases by mid-April. Paraguay and Argentina were also hard hit, but the disease ran most rampant in Brazil, where a whopping 150,000 people were infected with the life threatening disease.