Viral — Mosquito-Borne
About Dengue
Dengue fever is a painful mosquito-borne disease caused by any of four related dengue virus types (DENV 1–4). You can be infected by each type only once, but by different types over a lifetime. It is spread by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes and is endemic across the tropics, including the Caribbean.
Symptoms appear 3–14 days after the bite and usually last 3–10 days. Rarely, dengue progresses to dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome, which can be fatal.
Symptoms
- Sudden high fever
- Severe headache and pain behind the eyes
- Severe joint and muscle pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Skin rash 3–4 days after the fever starts
- Mild bleeding — nose, gums or easy bruising
Test Options
- Dengue — direct detection of dengue
- Dengue/Chik V* — detects and differentiates 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.