Like so many ailments, it begins with a fever. A crushing headache grips the afflicted, creating blurry vision alongside other trademark symptoms like joint pain, sick stomach, skin sensitivity, and extreme fatigue. After the first 24 hours, the fever won’t break and has soared past 102 F.
Luckily, it’s just a mild case of the mosquito-transmitted virus known as dengue. It’s the fastest-spreading tropical disease in the world, but unlike fellow vector-borne diseases like West Nile and Zika, dengue is much more dangerous.
Known in Africa and South America as “breakbone fever” due to the pain it inflicts, dengue carries an average mortality rate of up to 20 percent for untreated patients who develop hemorrhagic symptoms….