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Dengue Fever Many Years but No Vaccine

Talking about diseases without vaccines. An interesting case is dengue fever, also known as backbone fever. Dengue fever is an infectious disease caused by the dengue virus, an RNA virus of the genus Flavirius , which is transmitted by the mosquitoes in the genus Aedes . When a mosquito carrying dengue virus bites a person, the virus enters the skin with the mosquito’s saliva. It enters the white blood cells, and reproduces inside the cells while they travel throughout the body. The only existing vaccine was approved this 2021. This vaccine is limited to people between the ages of 9-45 years old with confirmed previous infection and/or who live in endemic areas. This is a great limitation in trying to eradicate and control this disease; therefore, reducing the number and the habitat of mosquitoes and limiting the probability of biting are the best types of prevention we can carry out. Most infected people are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms; others have more severe symptoms; and...
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Factor V Leiden

Nowadays, thanks to coronavirus most people know what a blood clot is. Well, today I would like to talk about a genetic mutation that increases the chances of developing thrombophilia. A mutation in the Factor V called Factor V Leiden. This condition was first discovered in 1994. In the past decades it has gained increasing attention since this condition is the most common inherited form of thrombophilia, with a prevalence of 3% to 8% in Caucasian population. In patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) this prevalence increases to 50%. Despite, these elevated percentages of prevalence, very few people are aware of the elevated risk they have to develop thrombophilia. Factor V is a hidden disorder. It will not be exposed until the affected person or a family member has suffered an episode of thrombosis. This is a delicate situation given the fact that other risk factors such as obesity, older age, surgery, intake of oral-contraceptives, pregnancy, prolonged travel or little mobility i...
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