By Rhoda Mutuku
He is weak, shivering and twitching in pain that struck shortly after midday. David Kazungu, a Kilifi based journalist has lost count of time and by midnight the clock is stuck as the excruciating ache on his body exacerbates.
Kazungu vividly recalls how an agonizing illness rendered him completely numb and nearly immobile, as he could not get off his bed.
““The fever is one hectic thing … I found myself in a very awkward state” Kazungu told The Plu “I lost appetite for almost everything that is edible and became weaker and weaker”
Unable to stand up, he could only reach for his phone and dial for help. In the next hour he was at Aga Khan Hospital in Mombasa town where medics discovered traces of severe dengue fever in blood samples drawn from his body.
“I finally went down with what would later be discovered to be dengue fever.” He said
Before he was fallen Kazungu recalls having an on and off headache for months but his uncountable visits to several medical facilities in Kilifi bore no fruits as the problem was never detected then.
“Every other time I visited hospital, they suspected malaria but on examination they couldn’t trace it. Eventually they concluded it was fatigue and recommended that I should rest”
The medical rest and home remedies could not help, his body energy was sapping every passing day and he knew from the back of his mind that things were not right.
At the hospital he stayed for three days under intense medical administration, before he was discharged with a full week of take-home drugs.
Kazungu, however, is a lucky man, the dengue triad is known to significantly reduce platelets counts in the blood, a serious condition that can result internal bleeding and even death.
And his case denotes a situation that many coast residents predominantly in Mombasa have encountered where medics now say it is a serious health concern.
May this year, health officials in Mombasa announced dengue outbreak where a total of 352 cases were reported. Out of these cases, county chief officer of health Dr Khadija Shikely confirmed that 202 tested positive.
“Mombasa has become notorious with the fever…recent joint study by the Ministry of health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that Mombasa is leading in Africa with 20 percent prevalence…,” Dr. Shikely said
This year’s outbreak was reported in all the six sub-counties of Kisauni, Nyali, Mvita, Changamwe, Likoni and Jomvu with school and college students predominantly affected.
According to Dr Shikely, the fever was first reported in Mombasa in 2013 where 88 cases tested positive, before it erupted again last year in 2016 where it killed three people out of 586 who were infected.
The spread of the disease has forced the county health officials to conduct a bold campaign to address the situation.
“It returned this year but we thank God we contained it before it escalated further…we conducted a wide campaign across the county to do away with stagnant water. Shikely said
In medical circles, it’s known that dengue is a virus transmitted by the Aedes-type mosquit. It’s a painful flu-type disease that exists in many tropical towns and cities.
Health experts say this mosquito is active during the day, and often bites at the ankles while the victim is sitting at a table with his or her legs in the shadows.
It has no known specific medicine to treat it and as with so many common ailments, the modern medical system is not very helpful. The management of the disease is directed towards relief of the symptoms.
There is a more severe form of dengue infection known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) which medics warn it can be fatal if unrecognized and not properly treated in a timely manner. DHF is caused by infection with the same viruses that cause dengue fever.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is characterized by a fever that lasts from two to seven days, with general signs and symptoms consistent with dengue fever.
While Dr Shikely asserts, the only treatment available for dengue is ‘symptomatic treatment’ in that there is no known cure, papaya leaves juice has often been used by dengue patients.
With the number of people catching dengue fever seemingly on the rise every year in Mombasa, especially during rainy season, the demand for home remedy is high.
“When I was diagnosed with dengue, I was advised to use papaya leaves juice,” said Sylvester Kanini adding “I squeezed a juice out of it which I used and after two days I was okay.”
Joseph Biwott, a clinical officer at a private clinic in Kongowea, on his part affirms papaya leaves contain enzymes like chymopapain and papain that can boost and normalize the platelet count and the liver damage caused by dengue disease and then it also will aid the recovery from dengue disease.
“I have been a victim of dengue and happened to use the juice, trust me it worked. Any day you sense dengue symptoms just get a sip of papaya leaves juice” explained the clinical officer.
However, The Plu understands that there is no medical evidence to support the effectiveness of papaya juice against dengue fever. The use of this juice is based on an old folk cure.
