Aníbal Vecchio , Renata Angles and Francisco Lombardo , got dengue, another epidemic that affects Argentina and all of Latin America, while they remained at home, fulfilling the strict quarantine of their country. Know its history.
Francisco, 32, who is currently alone and isolated from the rest of the patients in a hospital room in Buenos Aires, told the BBC that he hopes to recover and return home soon.
"I have very low platelets and white blood cells and that is very dangerous. For a week I have had a fever and my body hurts a lot, as much as if 20 people had hit me," he described.
Dengue is transmitted by female mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti species and its symptoms include high fever, such as COVID-19, but also very severe headache, in the eyes, in the muscles and joints, nausea, vomiting, and rash And, when it becomes severe, it can be life-threatening, according to Medline Plus.
According to Francisco, he ended up hospitalized after several days of fever of more than 39 ° C and because analyzes revealed that he has very low platelets and white blood cells.
"They did a blood test and it gave what they call the suspicion of dengue," he said.
But in the midst of the coronavirus quarantine in Argentina, where confinement measures were very strict during March and April, Francisco had no idea what was happening, although he was very sure he had contracted it at home.
"In the middle of the quarantine I got [dengue] in my house. People believe that it can be spread only in a garbage dump, in emergency neighborhoods or in an open field. But dengue is everywhere," he warned. However, he still does not know what type of dengue fever he suffers from.
Other cases
Hannibal and Renata were also victims of dengue.
"I felt like 20 people had beaten me together," Renata said, matching Francisco's description. "From one second to the next, my whole body began to ache, from my feet to my neck."
Both affirm that they became infected with dengue while they were strictly quarantining their apartment in Villa Crespo, a neighborhood in the center of the City of Buenos Aires.
Although they did not end up hospitalized like Francisco, they visited the hospital at least nine times during the two weeks that the illness lasted.
"We were in quarantine 15 days ago when I started with a very strong contracture in my back. I thought it was stress because of what we are experiencing," said Aníbal.
Afterwards, several days of high fever followed, above 39 ° C. Renata presented the same symptoms as Hannibal, but a day apart.
With his intense muscle aches and high fever, the hospital was his best option, but in the midst of the pandemic his outlook became even more complicated.
"Since we were both feverish, they sent us to the hallway where people with suspicions of COVID-19 arrive. We were hooded, with masks and little repellent buckets," Aníbal explained.
There, they took blood and "with the results of the fall of the white blood cells and platelets they told us that we possibly have dengue."
In addition to the seven days in a row with fever above 39 ° C, they indicated that they felt a burning in the eyes, a severe headache, that they had no strength and that they were without appetite.
But, as if that were not enough, something else affected Aníbal: he was diagnosed with dengue hepatitis, after presenting tingling in his hands and feet, "which are unbearable."
According to the Argentine Ministry of Health, a dengue patient may present at any time of the disease with signs and symptoms of particular involvement of an organ or system: encephalitis, myocarditis or dengue hepatitis, as well as kidney failure.
"We cannot catch dengue again because it can be very dangerous, even fatal," said Renata.
Now, Francisco, Aníbal and Renata agree that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, information is lacking to raise awareness about dengue.
"You have to put on the mosquitoes protection all the time, because it is not only in summer. The mosquito grows in all the neighborhoods, it does not make any class distinction," said Francisco.
"I have never experienced anything like this, I have never felt so bad, and how close you can be to death. People believe that the mosquito is something silly, but there is no awareness of how badly you go through it and how it can get complicated", Hannibal added.
See also:
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