Fact Sheet: Dengue/Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever

CLINICAL FEATURES

• Sudden onset of fever, severe headache, myalgias and arthralgias, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and hemorrhagic manifestations
• Occasionally produces shock and hemorrhage, leading to death

ETIOLOGIC AGENT

• Dengue viruses (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4) - flaviviruses

INCIDENCE

• Variable, depending on epidemic activity.
• Globally, there are an estimated 50 to 100 million cases of dengue fever (DF) and several hundred thousand cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) per year
• Average case fatality rate of DHF is about 5%
• In 1995, 250,000 cases of DF and 7,000 cases of DHF reported in Americas
• Between 100 to 200 suspected cases introduced into U.S. each year by travelers

SEQUELAE

• None

COSTS

• $250 million estimated in Puerto Rico in past 10 years

TRANSMISSION

• Mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti)

RISK GROUPS

• Residents of or visitors to tropical urban areas
• Increased severe and fatal disease in children under 15 years
• No cross-immunity from each serotype
• A person can theoretically experience four dengue infections

SURVE tests