Dengue and Prevention - Comprehension IELTS 4

Dengue and Prevention

Dengue (pronounced DENgee) fever is a painful mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

An estimated 400 million dengue infections occur worldwide each year, with about 96 million resulting in illness.

Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with a dengue virus. The mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with dengue virus in their blood. It can’t be spread directly from one person to another person.

Symptoms of Dengue Fever
Symptoms, which usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, may include
* Sudden, high fever
* Severe headaches
* Pain behind the eyes
* Severe joint and muscle pain
* Fatigue
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Skin rash, which appears two to five days after the onset of fever
* Mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)

Treatment for Dengue Fever
There is no specific medicine to treat dengue infection. If you think you may have dengue fever, you should use pain relievers with acetaminophen and avoid medicines with aspirin, which could worsen bleeding. You should also rest, drink plenty of fluids, and see your doctor. If you start to feel worse in the first 24 hours after your fever goes down, you should get to a hospital immediately to be checked for complications.

Preventing Dengue Fever
The best way to prevent the disease is to prevent bites by infected mosquitoes, particularly if you are living in or traveling to a tropical area. This involves protecting yourself and making efforts to keep the mosquito population down. In 2019, the FDA approved a vaccine called Dengvaxia to help prevent the disease from occurring in adolescents aged 9 to 16 who have already been infected by dengue. But, there currently is no vaccine to prevent the general population from contracting it.

To protect yourself:
Use mosquito repellents, even indoors.
When outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into socks.
When indoors, use air conditioning if available.
Make sure window and door screens are secure and free of holes. If sleeping areas are not screened or air conditioned, use mosquito nets.
If you have symptoms of dengue, speak to your doctor.

To reduce the mosquito population, get rid of places where mosquitoes can breed. These include old tires, cans, or flower pots that collect rain. Regularly change the water in outdoor bird baths and pets' water dishes.

If someone in your home gets dengue fever, be especially vigilant about efforts to protect yourself and other family members from mosquitoes. Mosquitoes that bite the infected family member could spread the infection to others in your home.

Reading Comprehension

Q1. How is Dengue caused by?
a. Mosquito bite
b. Dirty water
c. People infected by dengue
d. Dog bite

Q2. How many people are infected each year?
a. 96 million
b. 100 million
c. 400 million
d. 1 billion

Q3. How long do symptoms take to begin after infection?
a. 2 to 6 days
b. 1 to 3 days
c. 4 to 6 days 
d. 10 to 11 days

Q4. Which one of this is not a symptom of dengue?
a. Nausea
b. Pain in stomach
c. high fever
d. Severe headaches

Q.5 What is the treatment for Dengue Fever?
a. Drink plenty of fluids
b. Pain relievers
c. Vaccine
d. None of the above

Q6. When to consult a doctor immediately?
a. Feel worse in the first 24 hours
b. As soon as fever is felt
c. After feeling nausea
d. None of the above

Q7. How to prevent Dengue Fever?
a. Protect yourself
b. Pevent bites by infected mosquitoes
c. Drink plenty of fluids
d. None of the above

Q8. Where do mosquitoes not breed?
a. Old tires
b. Cans
c. Flower pots
d. Bed

Editable Worksheet for Teachers:

Click here to download above Reading Passage, MCQs and Answer Sheet;
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H1Pg6TdCOuhaqeO_RHXi7_iUwOxv9LoK/view?usp=sharing

Reference:
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dengue-fever-reference#1

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