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> For anyone unfamiliar with dengue, among its more notorious aspects is that repeated infections over a victim’s lifetime can make its impact worse. One reall
by the_af 5y ago
> For anyone unfamiliar with dengue, among its more notorious aspects is that repeated infections over a victim’s lifetime can make its impact worse.
One really minor nitpick, but I think it's different strains of dengue that get you: get infected by one, and you get resistance for that strain, but also become more susceptible to develop complications or die from a separate strain.
- travisjungroth 5y agoI was lucky enough to get the non-hemorrhaging type. But now if I get the hemorrhaging type it will be extra bad. So that's lame.
- icoder 5y agoI thought that the hemorrhaging wasn't necessarily related to a strain, but _is_ a possible heavier outcome regardless of the order you get them in?
- r00f 5y agoi had it pretty heavy, all the symptoms as by the book, but two independent labs showed that i didn't have dengue. so now i do not know if i had it or something different with very similar symptoms
- emblaegh 5y agoafaik, Chikungunya and Zika can be very similar to Dengue.
- lobocinza 5y agoFalse negatives are common when testing on the first week of symptoms. But after 1-2 weeks serology testing is accurate. My 1st exam was negative and the 2nd (after 2 weeks) was positive. There are other viruses with symptoms similar to Dengue like Zika and Chikungunya.
- icoder 5y agoVery relevant nitpicking! Also makes vaccination more tricky as it should ideally cover all strains to prevent the same effect.
- shkkmo 5y agoMy understanding is that the current vaccine helps against all strains, but also makes the infection worse if you do still happen to catch Dengue (similar to a previous infection.) As a result this risk is managed by only giving the current vaccine to people who have already had Dengue atleast once
- Clewza313 5y agoTo clarify a bit, if you've already had dengue once, the vaccine is recommended since it makes you less likely to catch the other strains of dengue and it reduces the odds of severe complications. However, if you've never had dengue, the vaccine is not recommended since it increases the odds of complications. This rather odd effect is known as antibody-dependent enhancement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody-dependent_enhancement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody-dependent_enhancement I had dengue once and got vaccinated afterward, since I live in a dengue hotspot. However, not many do, the cost and complexity (~$300 for 3 shots over 18 months, generally not covered by insurance) also dissuades many.
- flyingsilverfin 5y agoHiya - I don't live in a dengue hotspot country but have had it (grandparent lives in a tropical country) and would like to get Dengvaxia to make it a bit less risky to go back... do you know if your country would allow flying in to get the vaccine? May I ask which country it is? Thanks!!
- jamal-kumar 5y agoI'm pretty sure you can just go up to a pharmacy here in Costa Rica and get it for about 140$ - if you want I can confirm for you https://www.nacion.com/ciencia/salud/vacuna-contra-el-dengue-ya-esta-disponible-en-las-farmacias-privadas-de-costa-rica/55RQ73ZIBBB3FCIDMR2OVDLVHA/story/ https://www.nacion.com/ciencia/salud/vacuna-contra-el-dengue...