Infectious Diseases

Dengue Fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are caused by related virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4), of the genus Flavivirus. Once contracted the individual is immune to that particular serotype for life. A person can contract more than one dengue infection during his/her lifetime.

Both diseases are considered tropical diseases and all four involve human and the Aedes mosquito. The illnesses can be a mild nonspecific viral syndrome or it can be a severe and fatal hemorrhagic disease.

Risk Factors for dengue Infection

- The history of prior dengue infection of the patient

- Age of the patient

- The particular strain of the dengue virus

A pandemic of dengue began in Southeast Asia after WWII and spread around the world since that time. Dengue viruses are not emerging in the Pacific and the Americas.

There are two types of Trypanosomiasis – the West African version and the Gambian version. Both are caused by a type of tsetse fly indigenous to that particular region they are named for. Either Trypanosomiasis type, they are both called the sleeping sickness. It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that as many as 100,000 cases combined occur each year. The primary cause is due to the bite of the tsetse fly infected by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.

Transmission and Symptoms of the Sleeping Sickness

The most probable means of getting Trypanosomiasis aka sleeping sickness is through the bite from an infected tsetse fly. However, there are rare times where the illness could spread through an organ transplant, blood transfusion or even pregnancy, where the mom could pass it to her baby.

The American trypanosomiasis is also known as Chagas disease. It is the human tropical parasitic disease that occurs mainly in South America. The flagellate protozoan named Trypanosoma cruzi is the cause of the transmission to humans from other mammals mostly by the blood-sucking assassin bugs.

These assassin bugs are known by other names such as the kissing bug, chipo, chupanca, benchuca, barbeiro and vinchuca. There are other ways to get the disease including by ingestion of contaminated food, blood transfusion and fetal-maternal transmission.

If you plan to travel to South America or Africa, you could possibly run into one of the most prevalent tropical diseases there – yellow fever. It is a hemorrhagic disease caused by a virus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which thrives primarily in the tropical regions of South America and the sub-Sahara areas in Africa.

Many travelers to these regions exposed to yellow fever get mild cases which result in vomiting, fever, nausea and headaches. More serious cases develop problems with the kidneys, liver and heart and even excessive bleeding also known as hemorrhaging.

There is typically a mortality rate of up to 50% for those with a brutal case of yellow fever. No particular treatment exists but there is a vaccine that could help you avoid the disease or at least lessen the severity of the symptoms should you do get it.

Main Causes

For many people, an African Safari to Kenya sounds like a dream come true. Some people bring home more than just souvenirs. They bring home illnesses like malaria, typhoid fever or yellow fever. The good news is that there are steps you can take to ensure that the only thing you bring home are safari souvenirs like plenty of rolls of film to be developed.

Safari Health Pre-Planning

The most important thing you can do in all of your safari pre-planning is visit your doctor about two months before you leave. Your primary care doctor will help you determine what health steps must be taken so that you will be protected as much as possible from tropical diseases and other foreign maladies.