Break-Bone Fever (Dengue) - Devil's Own Disease on Comeback Trail

Fine article on history of Dengue Fever. First traveled the world via sailing ships that carried the mosquito too. Now on comeback trail in Southern Florida via ships and jets from Central and South America, and Africa. The payback from globalization. Too many politicians are worried about immigrants who enrich our nation culturally and have done little to be sure that we protect ourselves from vectors of pandemic diseases in the name of outworn "deregulation" and mislabeled "free trade."

clipped from magazine.jhsph.edu The Devil's Disease: Dengue Fever Spiking fever, searing muscle and joint pain, blood seeping through the skin, shock and possibly death—the severest form of dengue fever can inflict unspeakable misery. Once rare, dengue fever now threatens more than 2.5 billion people. What will it take to stop an old disease spreading with a new vengeance? Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Rush treated an outbreak in 1780 Philadelphia and, observing the misery afflicting its victims, called it “Break Bone Fever.” In Swahili, however, it was still known as ka-dinga pepo, a disease of the devil. It was but a short linguistic jump for it to become known worldwide as dengue fever.