When spoken or discussed of the most severe and damaging virulent infectious diseases manacing India, the first name that pops up is ‘Dengue’. The global figures reflect, this disease infects nearly 400 million people annually and claims almost 22000 lives. In India, this is one of the most severe ‘health hazards,’ and the number of infections and morbidities is ‘worryingly high.’ This year itself saw a whopping increase in dengue infections to a whopping figure of ‘67000 counts’. As we are currently struggling with coronavirus infections, this dengue menace has further contributed to our woes.

The leading cause of this ‘Dengue Menace’ is a virus attack caused by the bacterias belonging to the same family of’ four closely related’ dengue mosquitos. A person gets diagnosed with dengue apparently when he/she gets bitten by a mosquito named ‘Aedis,’ which infects the blood of the person with its venom and spreads the infection gradually all over the internals. Hence, severe precautions and safety measures are necessary to follow to avoid contracting this disease.

SYMPTOMS OF DENGUE VIRUS

A person infected with the virus would display the following symptoms incase he contracts the infection. Some of the symptoms are as follows-:

• Very ‘ high-temperature fever
• Headaches
• Eyestrain
• Muscle ache/ severy body pain
• Fatigue
• Vomiting, and others.

The symptoms can also be quite mild, which is only a serious concern to address as it is a high possibility among doctors to misconstrue it as ‘flew’ or other virulent infection. If not correctly attended to and treated at an appropriate time, it can further transform into more severe ailments like ‘hemorrhagic fever,’ which could eventually lead to a person’s untimely demise. Research shows that people belonging to older age groups with lower degrees of ‘immunity level’ are more susceptible and vulnerable to contracting the infection quickly. Besides that, people diagnosed with dengue for a second or subsequent time also hold a high chance of ‘hemorrhagic fever.’ It could further lead to some severe health issues in a person’s body and might result in lymph blood vessels damage, nose bleeding, liver enlargement, massive internal bleeding, and even ‘shock and death, commonly termed as DSS( Dengue Shock Syndrome).

There are a few precautions that are necessary to take to avoid contracting this virus. Some of them are as follows-

*Wearing fully covered clothes while outdoors.

*Frequent use of mosquito repellants and safety nets.

*Avoid going to places where generally many mosquitos breed.

*Proper ‘air-conditioning’ environment (if possible to arrange).

*Timely consultation from doctors and medical experts when one shows the symptoms.

*Using properly enclosed windows with no space.

There has been much debate and research taking place by the experts and medical professionals as to what kind of face mask would provide the best safety and prevention from the attack of the menacing coronavirus. Wearing protective face masks have proven to herald the spread of coronavirus infections to some extent. However, there is still a lot of doubts and apprehensions among people to decide on what kind of face masks they should wear to shield themselves?

As per the research and examinations of medical experts and global health bodies like WHO, they have given high preference to surgical grade N-95 respirators followed by surgical grade masks. However, such covers are mostly reserved for health professionals and those under high vulnerability, including children and senior citizens, because of the grave concerns about the possibility of these surgical masks contributing to landslide pollution, environmental degradation, and suffocation issues to people. The prime reason for preferring ‘graded surgical masks’ over ordinary covers is also the fact that it provides a little breathing space to people, which makes it a bit less smothering and more comfortable to wear. Doctors have also suggested to wash and clean up the masks every time one wears it. 

It’s still not very clear as to which masks would best save the people from the attack and the extent of protection it could provide. There has been extensive research taking place concerning that. Most testings and discoveries surrounding the appropriateness of masks have concluded that the ones with the tighter fittings around the mouth hold high chances of protection compared to the standard paper masks. However, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) had announced that any covering in mouth, including a bandana, would suffice in shielding people from the attack.

There has been high importance given to wearing masks, especially in public, where people continuously come into contact with other people, which enhances their exposure, and the risk to contract the virus becomes manifold. The governments across the world, especially the countries where the count of coronavirus cases are incredibly high, have made sure to deploy police and security personnel to make sure everyone wears masks, and penalize people who fail to cover themselves.

It is a well-known fact that improved immunity is the only way to fight against COVID-19 infection as there are no drugs or vaccines discovered to destroy the virus. Doctors have been treating coronavirus patients worldwide by improving immunity and fighting the virus. Similarly, improved immunity also helps prevent viral infection. Hence, immunity boosters have been playing a crucial role in the pandemic, as insisted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Recently, a rumor has it that drinking tea does cure the coronavirus. It buzzes that the Chinese doctor Dr. Li Wenliang, who had warned in the initial stage of the COVID-19 epidemic, also found that tea cures the virus. Later it was observed that the tea consists of chemicals that kill the virus in the cells engineered in vitro experiments. But according to the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in vitro tests are not enough to prove that tea helps in curing coronavirus.

According to research in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, scientists have found that tea actually helps in treating coronavirus. They state that consuming Myrrh with tea is a potential cure as Myrrh and tea are effective in preventing the growth of an essential protein in the COVID-19 virus. These two plants have the power to reduce the strength of the virus, as concluded by the study of Kusuma School of Biological Sciences (KSBS) on fifty-one herbal plants on clones of the coronavirus protein.

However, clinical trials are required to come to a conclusion, says Prof. Ashok Kumar Patel, leader of the research, IIT.

Benefits of Green Tea

According to scientists, green tea is rich in anti-bacterial properties and also helps in controlling cholesterol and Blood Pressure (BP). Also, black tea is an excellent immunity booster.