Symptoms and What To Do If You Think You Have Dengue

The principal symptoms of dengue are:
High fever and at least two of the following:

• Severe headache
• Severe eye pain (behind eyes)
• Joint pain
• Muscle and/or bone pain
• Rash
• Mild bleeding manifestation (e.g., nose or gum bleed, petechiae, or easy bruising)
• Low white cell count

Generally, younger children and those with their first dengue infection have a milder illness than older children and adults.
Watch for warning signs as temperature declines 3 to 7 days after symptoms began.
Go IMMEDIATELY to an emergency room or the closest health care provider if any of the following warning signs appear:

• Severe abdominal pain or persistent vomiting
• Red spots or patches on the skin
• Bleeding from nose or gums
• Vomiting blood
• Black, tarry stools (feces, excrement)
• Drowsiness or irritability
• Pale, cold, or clammy skin
• Difficulty breathing

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is characterized by a fever that lasts from 2 to 7 days, with general signs and symptoms consistent with dengue fever. When the fever declines, warning signs may develop. This marks the beginning of a 24 to 48 hour period when the smallest blood vessels (capillaries) become excessively permeable (“leaky”), allowing the fluid component to escape from the blood vessels into the peritoneum (causing ascites) and pleural cavity (leading to pleural effusions). This may lead to failure of the circulatory system and shock, and possibly death without prompt, appropriate treatment. In addition, the patient with DHF has a low platelet count and hemorrhagic manifestations, tendency to bruise easily or have other types of skin hemorrhages, bleeding nose or gums, and possibly internal bleeding.

Treatment

There is no specific medication for treatment of a dengue infection. Persons who think they have dengue should use analgesics (pain relievers) with acetaminophen and avoid those containing ibuprofen, Naproxen, aspirin or aspirin containing drugs. They should also rest, drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration, avoid mosquito bites while febrile and consult a physician.
As with dengue, there is no specific medication for DHF. If a clinical diagnosis is made early, a health care provider can effectively treat DHF using fluid replacement therapy. Adequately management of DHF generally requires hospitalization.

How is dengue fever diagnosed?

The diagnosis of dengue fever is usually made when a patient exhibits the typical clinical symptoms of headache, fever, eye pain, severe muscle aches, and petechial rash and has a history of being in an area where dengue fever is endemic. Dengue fever can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms overlap with those of many other viral illnesses, such as West Nile virus and chikungunya fever.

In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a blood test to diagnose people with dengue fever, called the DENV Detect IgM Capture ELISA. The FDA notes that the new test may also give a positive result when a person has a closely related virus, such West Nile disease.

What is the treatment for dengue fever?

Because dengue fever is caused by a virus, there is no specific medicine or antibiotic to treat it. For typical dengue, the treatment is concerned with relief of the symptoms. Rest and fluid intake for hydration is important. Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should only be taken under a doctor's supervision because of the possibility of worsening bleeding complications. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and codeine may be given for severe headache and for joint and muscle pain (myalgia).

What is the prognosis for typical dengue fever?

Typical dengue is fatal in less than 1% of cases. The acute phase of the illness with fever and myalgias lasts about one to two weeks. Convalescence is accompanied by a feeling of weakness (asthenia), and full recovery often takes several weeks.

How do you treat dengue fever?

Dengue Fever

Dengue (pronounced DENgee) fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

Each year, an estimated 100 million cases of dengue fever occur worldwide. Most of these are in tropical areas of the world, with the greatest risk occurring in:

• The Indian subcontinent
• Southeast Asia
• Southern China
• Taiwan
• The Pacific Islands
• The Caribbean (except Cuba and the Cayman Islands)
• Mexico
• Africa

Central and South America (except Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina)
Most cases in the United States occur in people who contracted the infection while traveling abroad. But the risk is increasing for people living along the Texas-Mexico border and in other parts of the southern United States. In 2009, an outbreak of dengue fever was identified in Key West, Fla.

Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with a dengue virus. The mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with dengue virus in their blood. It can’t be spread directly from one person to another person.

Symptoms of Dengue Fever

Symptoms, which usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, may include

• 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)
Sometimes symptoms are mild and can be mistaken for those of the flu or another viral infection. 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).

People with weakened immune systems as well as those with a second or subsequent dengue infection are believed to be at greater risk for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Diagnosing Dengue Fever

Doctors can diagnose dengue infection with a blood test to check for the virus or antibodies to it. If you become sick after traveling to a tropical area, let your doctor know. This will allow your doctor to evaluate the possibility that your symptoms were caused by a dengue infection.

Treatment for Dengue Fever

There is no specific medicine to treat dengue infection. If you think you may have dengue fever, you should use pain relievers with acetaminophen and avoid medicines with aspirin, which could worsen bleeding. You should also rest, drink plenty of fluids, and see your doctor. If you start to feel worse in the first 24 hours after your fever goes down, you should get to a hospital immediately to be checked for complications.

webmd.com

Brazil 2014: World Cup dengue fever risk predicted

Scientists have developed an "early warning system" to alert authorities to the risk of dengue fever outbreaks in Brazil during the World Cup.

The analysis, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, estimates the chances of an outbreaks of the mosquito-borne infection disease.

They say the risk is high enough to warrant a high-alert warning in three venues - Natal, Fortaleza and Recife.

If they come top of their group, England will play in Recife on 29 June.

About a million fans are expected to travel to the 12 different cities hosting matches during the World Cup, which runs from 12 June to 13 July.

Brazil recorded more cases of dengue fever than anywhere else in the world between 2000 and 2013, with more than seven million cases reported.


Dengue is a viral infection that is transmitted between humans by mosquitoes.

It can cause life-threatening illness and there are currently no licensed vaccines or treatments.

Screens, air-conditioning and using insecticides can all reduce the risk of being bitten,

The early-warning system covers 553 "microregions" across Brazil.

The team looked at rain and temperature data from 1981 to 2013 as well as population density data and altitude

The risk of dengue fever is low in Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and Sao Paulo.

However, they predict that there is some chance of dengue risk exceeding medium levels in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Salvador and Manaus.

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Travellers, particularly those attending matches in high-risk cities might return home with dengue”

David Harley and Elvina Viennet,
Australian National University in Canberra
The three cities with the greatest chance of high dengue risk are Natal, Fortaleza, and Recife.

Dr Rachel Lowe from the Catalan Institute of Climate Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, who led the research, said: "Recent concerns about dengue fever in Brazil during the World Cup have made dramatic headlines, but these estimates have been based solely on averages of past dengue cases.

"The possibility of a large dengue fever outbreak during the World Cup, capable of infecting visitors and spreading dengue back to their country of origin, depends on a combination of many factors, including large numbers of mosquitoes, a susceptible population, and a high rate of mosquito-human contact."

The researchers say being able to plan in advance can give local authorities the time to implement measures to reduce or contain epidemics in their areas and to deal with the mosquito populations there.

Writing in the same journal, David Harley and Elvina Viennet from the Australian National University in Canberra say: "Travellers, particularly those attending matches in high-risk cities, might return home with dengue.

"Those who return home unwell will seek treatment. Doctors must be aware of causes for febrile illness in World Cup spectators."