Repost: Dengue in Africa the Essay

2 to $44.4 million (NIAID, 2011).

The President's proposed 2013 budget also shifts funding around to effectively increase contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 60%, which should indirectly help dengue vector control programs and improve health system infrastructures in developing countries (ASTMH, 2013). Importantly, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation contributed $1.5 billion dollars to this fund (Gates, 2013) and Germany is contributing another billion Euros (Niebel, 2013).

Other disaster relief organization can help provide the needed financial and personnel resources for a dengue outbreak response. The largest dengue outbreak ever recorded in Africa occurred in October/November 2009 on the island state of Cape Verde (MSF, 2009; IRFC, 2009). An estimated 13,187 suspected dengue cases were reported to the Health Ministry between October 1 and November 9. Of these, 93 patients developed hemorrhagic fever and 6 had died. The organizations Doctors without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (ISRC) sent medical supplies and personnel to help with the overflowing hospital wards. Both organizations receive substantial financial support from U.S. citizens.

Conclusions

The ability to treat and control dengue in Africa is severely compromised by the lack of an adequate health system infrastructure or vector control programs. For this reason, the WHO has outlined goals for addressing these shortcomings in countries where dengue is endemic, which includes all of sub-Saharan Africa. The United States is contributing to these efforts primarily through funding of dengue research, global surveillance programs, and vector control programs; however, the global medical community has a long ways to go before this largely preventable disease brought under control

References

Amarasinghe, Ananda, Kuritsky, Joel N., Letson, G. William, and Margolis, Harold S.(2011). Dengue virus infection in Africa. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 17(8), 1349-1354.

ASTMH (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene). (2013). What does the President's 2013 budget mean for trop med/global health funding? ASTMH.org. Retrieved 10 Apr. 2013 from http://www.astmh.org/2013_Budget_statement.htm.

Brunkard, Joan M., Robles Lopez, Jose L., Ramirez, Josue, Cifuentes, Enrique, Rothenberg, Stephen J., Hunsperger, Elizabeth a. et al. (2007). Dengue fever seroprevalence and risk factors, Texas-Mexico border, 2004. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 13(10), 1477-1483.

Gates, Bill. (2013). Why the Global Fund is a terrific investment. TheGlobalFund.org. Retrieved 10 Apr. 2013 from http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/blog/31852/.

IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). (2009). Cape Verde: Red Cross responds to first ever dengue fever outbreak. IFRC.org. Retrieved 10 Apr. 2013 from http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/africa/cape-verde/cape-verde-red-cross-responds-to-first-ever-dengue-fever-outbreak/.

MSF (Doctors without Borders/Medecins sans Frontieres). (2009). Cape Verde: MSF responds to Africa's biggest recorded dengue fever outbreak. DoctorsWithoutBorders.org. Retrieved 10 Apr. 2013 from http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=4063&cat=press-release&ref=tag-index.

Nathan, Michael B., Dayal-Drager, Renu, and Guzman, Maria. (2009). Chapter 1. Epidemiology, burden of disease and transmission. In K. Ciceri and P. Tissot (Eds.), Dengue: Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention and Control, (pp. 1-21). Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press.

Neibel, Dirk. (2013). Why Germany committed EUR 1 billion to the Global Fund. TheGlobalFund.org. Retrieved 10 Apr. 2013 from http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/blog/31278/.

NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases). (2011). NIAID steps up focus on dengue research. NIAID.NIH.gov. Retrieved 10 Apr. 2013 from http://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/yearinreview/advances/features/Pages/dengueResearch.aspx.

WHO (World Health Organization). (2012). Global Strategy for Dengue Prevention and Control 2012-2020. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO….....