Dengue fever primary prevention

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

There is no vaccine for Dengue fever, and the primary mode of preventing disease is through mosquito control and elimination of the reservoir of disease. Personal prevention consists of the use of mosquito nets, repellents containing NNDB or DEET, covering exposed skin, use of DEET-impregnated bednets, and avoiding endemic areas.^[1]

Primary prevention of dengue mainly resides in eliminating or reducing the mosquito vector for dengue. Public spraying for mosquitoes is the most important aspect of this vector. Application of larvicides such as Abate® to standing water is more effective in the long term control of mosquitoes. Initiatives to eradicate pools of standing water (such as in flowerpots) have proven useful in controlling mosquito-borne diseases. Promising new techniques have been recently reported from Oxford University on rendering the Aedes mosquito pest sterile.

Recently, researchers at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in Brazil, have developed a world-awarded new technology to monitor and control the mosquito, using traps, chemical attractants, handheld computers and GPS georeferenced maps. The MI Dengue system can show precisely where the mosquitoes are inside the urban area, in a very short period of time.

Personal prevention consists of the use of mosquito nets, repellents containing NNDB or DEET, covering exposed skin, use of DEET-impregnated bednets, and avoiding endemic areas. This is also important for malaria prevention.

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