Dengue Fever Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dengue Fever, including details on symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, prevention.

Is what I have just a cold or is it dengue? Addressing the gap between the politics of dengue control and daily life in Villavicencio-Colombia.

Suarez MR, Olarte SM, Ana MF, González UC

Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 No. 18a-10, Bogotá, Colombia. rsuarez@uniandes.edu.co

In Colombia, dengue has been a target for public health interventions since the 1950s, with inadequate results. Furthermore, during the last few years in Colombia, the reported cases of dengue have increased. The social and cultural realities of the disease has been shown to be important and has not been considered when creating and implementing prevention and control programs. The paper draws on qualitative research of low- and high-income communities in the vicinity of Villaviecencio, South East Colombia to describe changing practices and direction of dengue prevention and control. It can be clearly observed from individuals' therapeutic itineraries and their perception of disease that public policies advertised in booklets and flyers and on television differ radically from people's everyday reality. This difference influences the success or failure of these policies.

Published 16 May 2005 in Soc Sci Med, 61(2): 495-502.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Dengue Fever Research Today. All Rights Reserved.