Medical Questions » Travel Questions » Question No. 992
| Question: | I don' t think Australians are told enough about the risks of overseas travel. I caught a disease called dengue fever in Fiji that I have never heard of before. The doctors back here took ages to work out what was wrong with me, and don' t seem to know how to treat it. Is there any cure? |
| Answer: | I agree that Australians are sometimes naive when travelling abroad, particularly to places like Bali and South-East Asia, where there are many quite nasty diseases present. Fiji is generally disease free, and you were particularly unlucky to catch it there. It is more common in Vanuatu and New Caledonia, which may explain why your doctor did not suspect it at first. Dengue fever may be caught from a mosquito bite in most tropical countries, including northern Australia.
Because it is caused by a virus, there is no effective treatment available. Medical science cannot cure any viral infection, be it the common cold, measles or AIDS. The most important therapy is prolonged rest and the regular use of aspirin for the pain and inflammation. Although the fevers, muscle pains, headaches, sore throat and depression caused by the disease are distressing, fatalities are rare. Total recovery may take several months.
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