Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH – At least 13 new cases of dengue fever were discovered by anti-dengue fever squad in Jeddah last week. Eight of the victims were between 20 and 38 years of age. Assistant Director of Jeddah Health Affairs Dr. Sami Eid confirmed that dengue fever cases have been on the increase since the beginning of January, especially in the downtown districts, south Jeddah and in neighborhoods on the eastern side of the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway. Eid added that all cases were receiving prompt treatment and there was no concern of dengue fever turning into an epidemic. The municipality is responsible for taking measures to fight the spread of dengue fever, he said. “This is not our job. We're responsible for educating the general public about dengue fever and reporting cases to the mayoralty so that it sends teams to spray insecticide.” Over 200 male and female inspectors pay visits to houses for this purpose, Eid said. He said inspectors noticed that some people could not differentiate between dengue fever and regular fever. Dengue fever is a debilitating viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes and causes sudden fever and acute pains in the joints. The symptoms manifest in patients five or seven days after a mosquito bite; sometimes a skin rash appears all over the body and the victim loses his appetite and drops weight. In rare cases, the nose, skin, intestine or mouth may show signs of bleeding and blood pressure drops below normal.
