The importance of vaccinating against dengue fever

Introduction

“It's everywhere and there's nothing we can do about it….”

31-year-old Tan Jhii Lian vocalizes her experience of contracting dengue fever twice within the span of 3 months..

After an initial 40-degree fever became more parlous, “Jhii found herself in and out of different hospitals...”

Adding to the new mother`s ordeal was the fact that she was required to leave her six-month old daughter for the first time since her birth…

Jhii says that “‘I was stuck there with a high fever. I was shivering even with a jacket and four layers of blankets covering me. There’s no treatment, there’s only symptomatic treatment available right now. I couldn’t fight back, so I just endured the whole experience.’”

Despite taking stringent preventative measures, Jhii caught dengue fever again just 3 months later…

Of this experience, Jhii says that “the second time, I couldn’t even take in any food or even water. Just one sip made the cramp so bad. It was really painful.”

There is also no specific treatment for Dengue fever, so Jhii could only receive supportive care at the hospital…

Despite her recovery from both infections, Jhii is  “ still living in fear that I might contract the virus a third and fourth time.”

She is also terrified for her infant daughter….

“She’s so young. For me having been infected twice, there’s a very high risk of her getting it. I just can’t imagine a baby contracting dengue....

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