- Also called:
- phlebotomus fever, three-day fever, or sandfly fever
- Related Topics:
- fever
- viral disease
- Phlebotomus
- Phlebotomus papatasii
pappataci fever
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What is pappataci fever?
Pappataci fever is an acute infectious disease caused by a phlebovirus and transmitted to humans by the bloodsucking female sand fly. It is characterized by temporary incapacitation and marked initially by abdominal symptoms, severe frontal headache, chills, fever, and joint and muscle pain. The disease is prevalent in moist subtropical countries of the Eastern Hemisphere, especially around the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, and parts of India.
In human hosts, the virus multiplies and disseminates throughout the body. Symptoms include lassitude, abdominal distress, and dizziness, followed by a chilly sensation. A rapid rise in temperature occurs, accompanied by severe frontal headache and postorbital pain, and intense muscular and joint pains.
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How is pappataci fever caused and how does it spread?
Pappataci fever is an acute infectious disease caused by a phlebovirus. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of bloodsucking female sand flies such as Phlebotomus papatasi, P. perniciosus, and P. perfiliewi. The disease is prevalent in subtropical countries of the Eastern Hemisphere, especially around the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, and parts of India.
The sand fly becomes infected by biting an infected person from 48 hours before to 24 hours after the onset of fever. After transmission, the virus incubates in the sand fly for 7 to 10 days, after which the sand fly remains infected for life.
In humans, the virus multiplies and spreads throughout the body. Symptoms appear within two to five days after exposure.
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What are the main symptoms of pappataci fever?
Pappataci fever, also known as sandfly or phlebotomus fever, is an acute, infectious, febrile disease caused by a phlebovirus and transmitted to humans by the bloodsucking female sand fly.
Symptoms include abdominal distress, severe frontal headache and postorbital pain, chills, dizziness, fever reaching 102 to 104.5 °F (38.8 to 40.3 °C), and intense muscular and joint pains. A flushed face appearance is also typical, but unlike dengue, no rash or scaling of the skin occurs. After the fever, affected individuals may experience fatigue and weakness, accompanied by slow pulse and frequently subnormal blood pressure. Convalescence may last from a few days to several weeks, but the prognosis is always favorable.
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How does the virus affect the human body?
Pappataci fever, caused by a phlebovirus, is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female sandflies. Once transmitted, the virus requires 7 to 10 days to incubate in the sandfly, which then remains infected for life.
In humans, the virus multiplies and spreads throughout the body. After about two to five days, symptoms such as lassitude, abdominal distress, and dizziness appear, followed by chills. A rapid temperature increase occurs within the next day or two, reaching 102 to 104.5 °F (38.8 to 40.3 °C). Symptoms resemble those of dengue, including severe frontal headache, postorbital pain, and intense muscular and joint pains, accompanied by a flushed face. Unlike dengue, pappataci fever does not cause a rash or scaling. After the fever subsides, fatigue and weakness may persist, with a slow pulse and potentially subnormal blood pressure. Convalescence can last from a few days to several weeks, but the prognosis is generally favorable.
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What happens to the body's organs or systems during the infection?
Pappataci fever, caused by a phlebovirus, is transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies. Once the virus enters the human body, it multiplies and spreads throughout. After about two to five days, symptoms such as lassitude, abdominal distress, and dizziness appear, followed by chills. Body temperature rises rapidly, reaching 102 to 104.5 °F (38.8 to 40.3 °C). Symptoms resemble those of dengue, including severe frontal headache, postorbital pain, and intense muscular and joint pains. The face appears flushed, but unlike dengue, there is no rash or scaling. During the first day of fever, the pulse accelerates, and after about two days, the temperature normalizes. After the fever, fatigue and weakness may occur, along with a slow pulse and low blood pressure. Convalescence can last from a few days to several weeks.
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How is pappataci fever diagnosed and treated by doctors?
Pappataci fever, caused by a phlebovirus and transmitted by female sand flies, is characterized by symptoms including abdominal distress, severe frontal headache, chills, fever, and joint and muscle pain.
Diagnosis typically occurs during the summer, following the sand fly breeding season. After a two-to-five day incubation period, symptoms such as lassitude and dizziness appear, followed by a rapid temperature increase, reaching 102 to 104.5 °F (38.8 to 40.3 °C).
Treatment for pappataci fever is largely symptomatic, focusing on alleviating discomfort and supporting the body's natural recovery processes. The prognosis is generally favorable, though convalescence may last from a few days to several weeks.
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pappataci fever, acute infectious febrile disease caused by a phlebovirus (family Bunyaviridae) and producing temporary incapacitation, marked initially by abdominal symptoms, severe frontal headache, chills, fever, and joint and muscle pain. It is transmitted to humans by the bloodsucking female sand fly (notably Phlebotomus papatasi, P. perniciosus, and P. perfiliewi) and is prevalent in the moist subtropical countries of the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly around the Mediterranean Sea, in the Middle East, and in parts of India.
Pappataci fever breaks out in epidemic form during the summer season following sand fly breeding. Hosts may include warm- and cold-blooded vertebrates and possibly plants and thrips (tiny winged insects of the order Thysanoptera). The sand fly can become infected as a result of biting an infected person anytime from 48 hours before until 24 hours after the onset of fever. Once it has been transmitted, the virus requires 7 to 10 days to incubate, after which the sand fly remains infected for life.
In human hosts, the virus multiplies and becomes widely disseminated throughout the body. Within about two to five days after exposure, infected individuals experience a feeling of lassitude, abdominal distress, and dizziness, followed within one day by a chilly sensation. A rapid rise in temperature—reaching 102 to 104.5 °F (38.8 to 40.3 °C)—occurs during the next day or two. As with dengue, symptoms include severe frontal headache and postorbital pain, intense muscular and joint pains, and a flushed appearance of the face, but, unlike dengue, no true rash or subsequent scaling occurs. During the first day of fever the pulse is accelerated. Usually after two days the temperature slowly returns to normal; only rarely is there a second episode of fever. Following the febrile period, the affected individual may experience significant fatigue and weakness, accompanied by slow pulse and frequently subnormal blood pressure. Convalescence may require a few days or several weeks, but the prognosis is always favourable. Treatment is entirely symptomatic.
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Sand flies breed in vegetation within a few hundred feet of human habitations. However, these breeding places are difficult to discover, rendering larvicidal control impractical. The bloodsucking females feed only from sunset to sunrise and only at ground level, so that sleeping above the ground floor provides moderately good protection. Ordinary mosquito netting and screening are useless, because unfed female flies can pass through their 18-mesh squares. Insect repellents, such as dimethyl phthalate, when applied to exposed skin, will keep sand flies away for a few hours, but the use of insecticide sprays on verandas, on screens, around doors and windows, and within habitations will readily kill all adult sand flies that alight on the sprayed surfaces.