Harrowing footage shows student, 22, ‘possessed’ after her ‘holiday hangover’ turned out to be killer ‘breakbone fever’
HARROWING footage shows a student acting “possessed” while ill in bed, after her holiday hangover turned out to be deadly dengue fever.
Cara Pyper had been in Bali, Indonesia, for two weeks when all of a sudden she began to feel “deathly unwell” as if she had been “hit by a bus”.
The 22-year-old developed a high temperature, headaches, muscle pain, and extreme fatigue, all common symptoms of dengue.
Also known as ‘breakbone fever’, dengue is an infection spread by mosquito bites that causes severe, flu-like illness.
Most people will get better within one to two weeks, but some may need to go to hospital. In some cases, dengue can be fatal.
In a video taken by Cara’s pal, Abbi Whorriskey, the student can be seen thrashing her arms about looking “possessed”, as if she was swatting flies while asleep.
Abbi, also 22, even joked she thought she might need to “phone a priest” after seeing her friend’s “scary” sleep movements.
At the time, Cara didn’t realise it was dengue fever and thought it could just be a hangover, so pushed herself to continue sight-seeing.
Cara, from Edinburgh, Scotland said: “It was hell at the time. I felt deathly unwell.
“About two weeks in to our holiday I literally just got overcome with this random sickness.
“I literally felt like I had been hit by a bus. My whole body just felt heavy and sore.
“I thought I was just run down because of the time difference or that it was maybe from drinking.
“I thought it was maybe just a hangover.
“I was in shock when I woke up and saw the video Abbi took. It does scare me.
“I don’t know if I was hallucinating in my dream or whatever but that was one of the first days that I got this illness.
“I don’t know if I was imagining flies in my dream but I’ve never moved in my sleep like that before. It was really bad.
“My friend was terrified obviously, she thought she was going to have to call a priest.”
‘In a lot of pain’
Cara, who is currently studying education at university, states that she put herself through “hell” as she tried to continue enjoying and exploring her holiday.
Cara said: “I needed to sleep for 24 hours a day but because I was in Bali I wanted to push myself to go to the monkey forest and all that.
“It started to get better five or six days after but it probably lasted around eight days.
What are the symptoms of dengue fever?
Dengue won't always cause symptoms, according to NHS guidance.
But if you do experience some, they’ll usually come on four to 10 days after an infected mosquito bites you.
The symptoms can be similar to the flu and include:
- Fever
- Severe headache
- Pain behind the eyes
- Muscle and joint pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Widespread rash
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of appetite
There is no cure or specific treatment.
Patients can relieve their symptoms via painkillers, staying hydrated and resting.
In rare cases, dengue symptoms can develop into severe dengue.
Elderly patients, or those with other medical conditions, are most at risk.
Severe dengue fever symptoms can include:
- Severe skin bleeding with spots of blood on and under the skin
- Blood in the urine and stools
- Respiratory distress – when the lungs cannot provide the vital organs with enough oxygen
- Organ failure
- Changes in mental state and unconsciousness
- Dangerously low blood pressure
You should call 999 or go to A&E if you experience any of the severe symptoms.
“Even when I thought I was getting better, I looked so bad that a waiter asked me if I was okay because I looked so sick.
“I still tried to do the most I could when I was sick. I was just in a lot of pain and sleeping everywhere I could.
“The rest of my time was unreal though, it was completely smooth.”
There’s no treatment for dengue, but you can ease your symptoms by resting, drinking plenty of fluids and taking paracetamol to help bring down your fever and ease pain.
But don’t take anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen or aspirin, as these can cause bleeding problems if you have dengue.
Layer up
Cara is now hoping to warn other holidaymakers and backpackers to layer up, wear mosquito spray and rest as much as possible if they think they have dengue fever.
Cara said: “I think dengue fever is at its height right now.
“It doesn’t just happen in Bali though you can get it in lots of countries, it was just from a mosquito bite and mosquitoes love me.
“I’m no stranger to mosquito bites so I was wearing mosquito spray but I’d definitely warn others to maybe just put on a few extra layers.
“If you do feel like you have it, maybe look into getting an IV and try to rest up as much as possible.”
If you’re in a country where dengue is found, the best way to prevent infection is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, according to NHS advice.
You can do this by:
- Wearing long-sleeved clothing and trousers to cover your arms and legs, particularly during early morning and early evening;
- Using insect repellent on your skin (ideally one that contains the ingredient DEET)
- Closing windows and doors whenever possible, or using blinds or screens; sleep under a mosquito net treated with insecticide, including during the day.
Dengue is often found in tropical areas like parts of Africa and Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
Dengue: A Global Threat
DENGUE cases surged across the after the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2023, the highest ever number of dengue cases was recorded, affecting over 80 countries.
Over 6.5 million cases and more than 7300 dengue-related deaths reported across the world.
A large number of these cases were recorded in North and South America, which saw more than 4.6 million cases and 4,000 deaths.
As of June 24, 2024, more than 9.7 million dengue cases have been reported in the Americas, twice as many as in all of 2023.
This prompted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory over the increased risk of dengue infections in the US in 2024.
“Global incidence of dengue in 2024 has been the highest on record for this calendar year,” it said.
“Many countries are reporting higher-than-usual dengue case numbers.”
Cases of dengue have also been spotted in Europe in 2024.
According to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), cases have been imported from spots where the illness is rife.
But a handful of locally acquired cases in Italy, France and Spain were flagged in 2023.
Dengue transmission peaks during the warmer and wetter months in many tropical and subtropical regions, and experts warn that cases are likely to increase as global temperatures increase.
Higher temperatures can expand the range of the mosquitoes that spread dengue, as well as affect other factors that facilitate virus transmission.
But dengue-carrying mosquitoes have become a growing threat to Europe over the past two decades as warmer temperatures have allowed the blood-sucking nat to thrive, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
European scientists have linked their presence to a recent surge in dengue cases on the continent.
The disease-ridden critter has become established in popular holiday spots like Spain, Croatia and Greece, while health officials in France have sounded alarm bells over dengue ahead of the Olympics.
