Multiple infections get transmitted to humans through insects. These infections are not necessarily dangerous but they might cause complications to your health. Arbovirus is also a similar insect transmitted infection that is spread through arthropods, which also gives this disease its name. This is a viral infection that usually has no evident symptoms until it becomes severe. Cases of arbovirus have increased recently and therefore it is important to know about this viral disease and its types. However these could be several types of arbovirus. Let us understand how it impacts health of people and ways in which it can be prevented.
What is Arbovirus?
OnlyMyHealth consulted Dr. Govind Anand, Consultant and Head of Virology Department, Kochi to understand this virus disease in detail. He explained that is a flu-like disease that spreads through insect bites. Its symptoms are usually very mild and it seems that you have usual flu or cold. However, arbovirus infects humans through fleas, ticks, gnats and mosquitoes. Even though this disease is more common in monsoon season, it can infect you in changing weather conditions. This is because changing seasons provide an apt environment for insects to grow and cause infections. There are several types of arbovirus that could infect you. We will look at the types below.
Types of Arbovirus
Several types of arbovirus can infect you and cause different types of complication with time. There are 3 main types of arbovirus-
- Flavivirus
- Togavirus
- Bunnyavirus
1. Flavivirus- This is even divided into sub-categories or sub-types depending on the causes and location of occurrence. You may get yellow fever, west nile virus, zika virus, dengue fever and more.
2. Togavirus- It is divided into three more parts such as ross river virus, eastern equine virus and western equine virus.
3. Bunnyavirus- This is another type of arbovirus which is more common towards western countries. It includes virus such as La Crosse virus, Jamestown Canyon Virus and California Encephalitis.
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Symptoms of Arbovirus
Depending on the type of arbovirus which has caused the infection, the symptoms may vary. However it has a set of common symptoms that arrive in the first place if you get infected by this virus. Most infection caused by arbovirus do not have any symptoms, hence it becomes very hard for people to understand the cause behind this problem. There could be inflammation and swelling in tissues and in the brain as well.
Symptoms of arbovirus have been categorised in two steps- neuroinvasive and non-neuroinvasive.
Neuroinvasive arbovirus- This condition has symptoms that indicates more towards the nervous system problems. Hence the signs can cause fatal complications in this method. This disease can infect your nervous system and thus should be prevented as soon as possible. They can lead to meningitis or encephalitis. Usual symptoms can be-
- Getting seizures
- Muscle pain
- Stiffness in neck
- Headache
- Confusion and problems concentrating most of the times
- Weakness in arms and legs
In the non-neuroinvasive arboviruses, the symptoms are little different from the previous one. The nervous system is not affected that therefore there is less of a mental impact on person going through it. Non-neuroinvasive arbovirus does not cause altered mental state and cause different mental health disorders. Some of them can be-
- Headaches
- Muscle aches
- Nausea
- Upset stomach
- Joint pain
- Diarrhoea
- Rashes
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How to Prevent Arbovirus?
Some of the viral diseases have vaccines in them, whereas other does not have it. The main preventions that can be taken in order to restrict arbovirus from infecting humans are through blocking the transmission channels. They are basically ways in which insects can enter your house and cause infection, if there are no triggers, and then the arbovirus will also not happen.
Here are some points given by doctor in order to control arbovirus from causing infections-
- Use insect repellent in your houses and make sure that there is no point which could be left, especially corners.
- Wear clothes that cover your maximum body, majorly your arms and legs, because that it where it gets affected the most.
- Tuck your pants in socks when you are moving towards grassy areas or where the availability od insects and mosquitoes could be more prominent.
- Get rid of any containers that have standing water in them, empty those places and clean it to avoid infections
- Keep the drainage bodies clean so that there is no accumulation of insects over the drainage or clogged water body in your house.
- Keep the pools and outdoor hot tubs clean and chlorinated; this is because it could be major reasons for insects to grow.
- Get yourself checked by a doctor if you feel any symptoms of arbovirus or any such disease.
- Use special pesticides for ticks
- Remove or dispose of the old furniture that is not in use so that the insects do not make their breeding point.
- If you have lawn or too much greenery, then keep it maintained and mow in regularly.
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