The Dengue Alert - What Travelers Need to Know

With the announcement of three deaths from dengue fever in Bolivia, travelers to Latin America should take sensible precautions. Dengue fever is occasionally epidemic throughout most tropical South American countries, and can affect large numbers of people.

Dengue has some very specific symptoms:

• A "saddleback" rash. It begins on the torso and spreads to the arms, legs, and face three to four days after the beginning of fever.
• Joint pain so severe the condition has earned the name "break bone fever," although it does not actually break bones.
• Severe headache, nausea, vomiting, sudden, high fever.
• And in small number of cases, hemorrhagic shock, a medical emergency.

As I note in my book Healing without Medication, Medical science has no cure or treatment for dengue fever. Unless shock occurs, doctors can only offer pain relievers, usually acetaminophen (Tylenol), and recommend lots of fluid. A traditional Latin American herbal remedy for dengue, however, is sometimes helpful.

Scientists at the Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City have found that extracts of the Mexican goat’s rue plants Tephrosia madrensis, Tephrosia viridiflora, and Tephrosia crassifolia slow the multiplication of the dengue virus, at least under laboratory conditions. Mexican curanderos treat dengue with a goat’s rue tea.

Goat’s rue herb increases perspiration. Be sure to drink 8–10 glasses of water a day when taking this herb. It also can stimulate milk production in women. Do not rely on goat’s rue for treatment of hemorrhagic shock.

The best approach to dengue fever is prevention. When traveling in the tropics, be sure to apply insect repellant when traveling through urban areas where water is allowed to stand—even cup-sized pools of water are enough for infection-bearing mosquitoes to multiply. The species of mosquito that carries dengue prefers to bite during the day, and frequents shaded or cool areas. Dengue is most common at elevations below 4,500 feet (1,500 meters).