People can prevent mosquito bites by wearing clothing that fully covers the skin, using mosquito netting while resting, and/or the application of insect repellent (DEET being the most effective). While these measures can be an effective means of reducing an individuals risk of exposure, they do little in terms of mitigating the frequency of outbreaks, which appear to be on the rise in some areas, probably due to urbanization increasing the habitat of A. aegypti. The range of the disease also appears to be expanding possibly due to climate change. Vaccine
In 2016 a partially effective vaccine for dengue fever became commercially available in the Philippines and Indonesia. It has been approved for use by Mexico, Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Singapore, Paraguay, much of Europe, and the United States. The vaccine is only recommended in individuals who have had a prior dengue infection or in populations where most (>80%) of people have been infected by age 9. In those who have not had a prior infection there is evidence it may worsen subsequent infections. For this reason Prescrire does not see it as suitable for wide scale immunization, even in areas where the disease is common.The vaccine is produced by Sanofi and goes by the brand name Dengvaxia. It is based on a weakened combination of the yellow fever virus and each of the four dengue serotypes. Studies of the vaccine found it was 66% effective and prevented more than 80 to 90% of severe cases. This is less than wished for by some.
Eosinophilic bronchitis (EB) is a type of airway inflammation due to excessive mast cell recruitment and activation in the superficial airways as opposed to the smooth muscles of the airways as seen in asthma. It often results in a chronic cough. Lung function tests are usually normal. Inhaled corticosteroids are often an effective treatment. Signs and symptoms
The most common symptom of eosinophilic bronchitis is a chronic dry cough lasting more than 6–8 weeks. Eosinophilic bronchitis is also defined by the increased number of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, in the sputum compared to that of healthy people. As patients with asthma usually present with eosinophils in the sputum as well, some literature distinguish the two by classifying the condition as non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB) versus eosinophilic bronchitis in asthma. Non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis is different from asthma in that it does not have airflow obstruction or airway hyperresponsiveness. Along with eosinophils, the number of mast cells, another type of white blood cell, is also significantly increased in the bronchial wash fluid of eosinophilic bronchitis patients compared to asthmatic patients and other healthy people. Asthmatic patients, however, have greater number of mast cells that go into the smooth muscle of the airway, distinguishing it from non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis. The increased number of mast cells in the smooth muscle correlate with the increased hyperresponsiveness of the airway seen in asthma patients, and the difference in the mast cell infiltration of the smooth muscle may explain why eosinophilic bronchitis patients do not have airway hyperresponsiveness.