There have been thousands of dengue fever cases globally, for example 5,000 last month (July 2011) in Vietnam alone. Other outbreaks have been seen in Thailand, India, Bahamas, Caribbean, and Brazil.  It is caused by daytime biting mosquitoes. Due to climate change the breeding grounds have expanded, being much worse after rainy periods.

Dengue is a nasty flu like illness also known as break bone fever, due to the extreme pain felt by the sufferer. In 1-2% people it becomes haemorrhagic when it causes bleeding

There are no vaccines to protect people yet. We are having increasing numbers coming through The Travel Clinic Ltd, who have suffered from dengue fever on previous trips.

The only methods of protection is to use insect repellents containing at least 35% DEET, this should be applied on top of sunscreen and reapplied after swimming or even perspiring a lot.