Dengue (pronounced DENgee) fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue virus types (DENV 1, DENV 2, DENV 3, DENV 4). A person may be infected by at least two if not all four types at different times in his lifetime but ony once by the same type. They are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever. Dengue is not transmitted directly from person-to-person. Dengue is transmitted between people by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, which are found throughout the world. These insects are called vectors. In many parts of the tropics and subtropics, dengue is endemic, that is, it occurs every year, usually during a season when Aedes mosquito populations are high, often when rainfall is optimal for breeding. These areas are, however, additionally at periodic risk for epidemic dengue, when large numbers of people become infected during a short period.
It is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults with symptoms appearing 3-14 days after the infective bite and typically last 3 – 10 days. In order for transmission to occur the mosquito must feed on a person during a 5- day period when large amounts of virus are in the blood; this period usually begins a little before the person become symptomatic. Some people never have significant symptoms but can still infect mosquitoes. After entering the mosquito in the blood meal, the virus will require an additional 8-12 days incubation before it can then be transmitted to another human. The mosquito remains infected for the remainder of its life, which might be days or a few weeks.
Symptoms
- Sudden, high fever
- Severe headaches
- Pain behind the eyes
- Severe joint and muscle pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Skin rash, which appears three to four days after the onset of fever
- Mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)
Younger children and people who have never had the infection before tend to have milder cases than older children and adults. However, serious problems can develop. These include dengue hemorrhagic fever, a rare complication characterized by high fever, damage to lymph and blood vessels, bleeding from the nose and gums, enlargement of the liver, and failure of the circulatory system. The symptoms may progress to massive bleeding, shock, and death. This is called dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
Prevention
Eliminate the places where the mosquito lays her eggs (containers that hold water in and around the home).
Protect yourself by using repellent on your skin while indoors or out.
When possible, wear long sleeves and pants for additional protection. .
If someone in your house is ill with dengue, take extra precautions to prevent mosquitoes from biting the patient and going on to bite others in the household. Sleep under a mosquito bed net, eliminate mosquitoes you find indoors and wear repellent.
Test options
Dengue: Direct detection of Dengue only
Dengue/Chik V* : Detection and differentiation of Dengue and Chikungunya
*The Dengue/Chik V test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by Caribbean Genetics. It has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or local regulations
Learn more about Dengue
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dengue-fever-reference
http://www.who.int/topics/dengue/en/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dengue.html
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/denguefever/understanding/pages/overview.aspx
