Public Health Concerns on Dengue 09 Nov 2012 09:32

An overview of dengue:

Dengue infection usually manifests in the occurrence of Dengue fever (DF) which is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and even adults. It is caused by any of four closely related viruses (i.e. serotypes 1-4). Infection with one serotype does not protect against the others, and sequential infections put people at greater risk for dengue hemorraghic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). These two complications are potentially fatal among children thus necessitating early diagnosis and management.

The dengue virus is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. The epidemiology of the spread of the infection closely follows the spread of the Aedes mosquito vector and occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world.

Dengue symptoms range from a mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. There are no specific antiviral medicines for dengue. It is important to maintain hydration. Symptoms appear 3-14 days after the infective bite.

Quoting from an article in the CDC website on the epidemiology of dengue (http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/epidemiology/index.html):

The four dengue viruses originated in monkeys and independently jumped to humans in Africa or Southeast Asia between 100 and 800 years ago.  Dengue remained a relatively minor, geographically restricted disease until the middle of the 20th century.  The disruption of the second world war – in particular the coincidental transport of Aedes mosquitoes around the world in cargo –  are thought to have played a crucial role in the dissemination of the viruses.  DHF was first documented only in the 1950s during epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand.  It was not until 1981 that large numbers of DHF cases began to appear in the Carribean and Latin America, where highly effective Aedes control programs had been in place until the early 1970s.

For more information on dengue, go to the WHO website: http://www.who.int/topics/dengue/en/