COVID 19 Not Doing It for You? Perhaps A Small Dose of Dengue Fever Might Be More to Your Liking.

Before I launch into this brief diatribe, I would like it known that recent rumours of my demise have been very much exaggerated! 

It is just fourteen weeks since the dreaded COVID19 made its presence felt on this island and, with its arrival those who choose to holiday here each year turned tail and fled back to the 'safety' of their home environments.

Within days the streets were empty devoid of carefree holidaymakers, the very lifeblood of Bali's economy. Shops, restaurants and businesses one by one reluctantly pulled down their shutters to wait out the uncertainties of what has become a global pandemic. 

Over the ensuing weeks, the villages and districts closed down, erecting barriers to keep potential carriers out and to coral their citizens within, trying to keep them from something that cannot be seen or indeed understood.

We subjected ourselves to self- quarantining within the safety of the walls that surround our house in the hope of avoiding having any contact with that dreaded minuscule pest.

And so a new regime emerged whereby we washed our hands every few minutes, wore surgical masks each time we left our sanctuary to gather essential supplies. On our return, the now-familiar ritual of applying dollops of hand sanitizer in case we had inadvertently come in contact with that microscopic invader.

Like most of the inhabitants of our planet, we began to adapt to a way of life whereby we were isolated from friends, family and acquaintances. Cosy dinner parties, nights out at favourite restaurants or a trip to the movies quickly became distant memories replaced by Zoom chats and FaceTime conversations with loved ones far away.

For a while we felt safe, cocooned within the confines of our villa not for a second realizing that another equally vicious virus lay in wait sheltering amid the tropical banana plants at the rear of the garden. 

Dengue Fever. 

Over the last few months, COVID 19 has been the virus that has attracted all of the attention, spreading at lightning speed around the world, leaving no country immune from its deadly reach. And yet, running parallel with the new virus is Dengue fever which infects an estimated 400 million people each year! 

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease whose symptoms are rapid and vicious and typically begin three to fourteen days after infection These include a high fever, debilitating headaches, vomiting, intense joint pain and a characteristic skin rash. In some cases, the disease develops into severe Dengue, also known as dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage leading to dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs. 

Why have I embarked upon a tale of awfulness about a virus that many around the world have never even heard of?

Well, during my self imposed lockdown, I decided to embark on a gardening project given the amount of time I had on my hands. Banana plants were cut back, vegetables planted, and seedlings were carefully nurtured.

 In short, I felt productive.

Now, somewhere along the way, a female mosquito decided to take her lunch somewhere on my exposed anatomy. This particular mosquito, the  Aedes variety is a rather splendid looking creature adorned with jaunty striped patterns across her belly, wings resplendent with white dots and a vicious proboscis in a vibrant shade of yellow. 

She got me!

 The interesting thing about Dengue is that humans are the primary host of the virus, and infection is often acquired via a single bite. A female mosquito that takes a blood meal from a person infected with dengue fever, during the initial 2- to 10-day the febrile period becomes itself infected with the virus in the cells lining its gut. About 8–10 days later, the infection spreads to the mosquito's salivary glands and is subsequently released into its saliva. The virus seems to have no detrimental effect on the mosquito, which remains infected for life. 

Now, about seven to ten days after the initial bite, the human begins to show symptoms of the disease. In my particular case, the onset of Dengue was as rapid as it was painful. Within minutes it seemed that every joint in my body was on fire accompanied by a headache of monumental proportions. 

Management ordered me to bed as we both recognized the symptoms, having both been infected three years prior. 

The interesting thing about a second bout is that it is much more virulent than the first time around. 

Twenty-four hours of a raging fever accompanied by violent shaking meant that the medical authorities simply had to be called.

The rather excellent BIMC hospital dispatched a doctor and a nurse to assess the situation. Both of these medical professionals arrived suitably suited up in complete Hazmat gear, making me feel like I was an extra in the movie 'Contagion'. 

Many hushed discussions were held out of earshot away from my bedside complete with solemn nodding of heads and surreptitious glances in my general direction. 

Later that evening, I found myself as a 'guest' at the BIMC hospital enduring an elaborate check-in procedure, 'outside' the hospital doors in a tent that had been erected in the car park! 

Seems that entering a medical facility during the middle of a global pandemic is no easy matter as I discovered when confronted by a phalanx of medical personnel dressed in full Hazmat suits.

First things first, they informed me—the dreaded COVID 19 test. 

An elongated swab is inserted into a nostril and slowly guided deep into the sinus tissue then twirled around for good measure making sure a  suitable specimen is obtained. One is given a second or two to recover from this intrusive operation before an equally long swab is inserted deep into the soft tissue of the throat! 

"That's done for now", said the doctor carefully packaging up the samples into tiny bottles. "For now?" I asked. "Oh yes," she replied, "We must do another first thing in the morning."

And so began my extended, lonely stay in a grey painted room visited by staff clad in what always appeared to me like aliens from another planet.

My vital signs monitored every two hours, gallons of blood extracted and dispatched to a lab somewhere deep in the bowels of the building, and a saline drip changed every four hours.

As my platelet count fell faster than the Dow Jones, I could only marvel at the care and attention showered upon me. There always seemed to be somebody there, attentive to my needs and willing me to get better. 

And so, for six days they nursed me back to health. Towards the end, the Hazmat suits were replaced with their usual 'scrubs' and smiles returned to faces which told me that I was well, and they were content with the job they had performed. 

And so now I begin the slow road to ridding my body of an unwelcome guest which will take a few weeks. In the meantime, I think of those frontline warriors who put their lives in danger to save ours and thank them from the bottom of my heart.

As for COVID 19, the sooner you leave us alone, the happier we will be.

Bali, 20th May 2020 ( The year of the pandemic) 

Paul v Walters is the best selling author of several novels and anthologies of short stories. When not cocooned in sloth and procrastination in his house in Bali he scribbles for several international and vox pop journals.