Location Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
Disaster Ill with dengue
This is Gowend’s story
Gowend (not her real name) lives in Burkina Faso. In 2023, in the early stages of pregnancy, she was admitted to hospital and diagnosed as having had dengue fever, a viral illness transmitted by mosquitoes which is, in a small number of cases, potentially fatal. It has been linked with miscarriage by some studies. Dengue is on the rise in Africa and Asia, partly thanks to the warming climate, and is increasingly being detected in Europe, too.
The first time I had dengue, I was starting my second pregnancy. I didn’t know I was pregnant at that time. But I didn’t feel well. It started with a migraine, which lasted a while. So I went to do a test, which confirmed that I was indeed pregnant.
