120px|Dengue virus
Dengue fever is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue
virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a
characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. Dengue is
transmitted by several species of mosquito within the Aedes genus,
principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection
with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only
short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a
different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is
no vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number
of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites. Treatment of acute dengue
is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or
moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more
severe cases. The incidence of dengue fever has increased dramatically
since the 1960s, with around 50–100 million people infected yearly.
Early descriptions of the condition date from 1779, and its viral cause
and the transmission were elucidated in the early 20th century. Dengue
has become a worldwide problem since the Second World War and is
endemic in more than 110 countries. (more...)
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1772:
Russia, Prussia and Habsburg Austria began the First Partition of
Poland to help restore the regional balance of power in Eastern Europe
among those three countries.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Partition_of_Poland>
1858:
American businessman and financier Cyrus West Field and his colleagues
completed the first transatlantic telegraph cable, crossing the
Atlantic Ocean from Valentia Island in Ireland to Heart's Content,
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/transatlantic_telegraph_cable>
1925:
The Welsh political party Plaid Cymru was founded with the goals of
promoting the Welsh language and the political independence of the
Welsh nation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Plaid_Cymru>
1981:
U.S. President Ronald Reagan fired the 11,345 striking members of the
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization en masse.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_%281968%29>
1995:
Operation Storm: Croatian forces recovered the town of Knin from the
Republic of Serbian Krajina.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knin>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
inveigh (v):
To complain loudly, to give voice to one's criticism (against
something)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inveigh>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Tis true, my form is something odd
but blaming me, is blaming God.
Could I create myself anew
I
would not fail in pleasing you.
--Joseph Merrick
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Merrick>
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