Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand April / May 2015 - The Health & Wellness Issue | Page 26

HEALTH & well-being Health in the Tropics Dealing with Dengue by Ayan Humbert-Droz Photos: Shutterstock E very now and then, we get a rollicking reminder that we are in fact living in the tropics. No, not the untamable, humidity-induced hair frizz. We’re talking about mosquito-borne viral infections such as dengue fever. Dengue is a nasty virus acquired from the Aedes Aegypti mosquito— little bloodsuckers commonly found in subtropical and tropical environments, Thailand included. 24 WANDERLUST It is with a certain amount of irony that I recall the moment my husband and I received an impossibly colourful flyer in our letterbox. Although written in Thai, the infographics were clear enough: Beware of dengue mosquitoes and do not allow your home to become a veritable breeding ground for these little critters. We took one look at the brochure, pooh-poohed it, and let out a chuckle. Not us— we wouldn’t catch dengue. Hey, this is Bangkok—the Big Smoke! People catch dengue fever when on once in a lifetime treks i