Dengue fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash. Recovery generally takes two to seven days. About 390 million people are infected a year and approximately 40,000 die.
About Dengue fever in brief
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash. Recovery generally takes two to seven days. About 390 million people are infected a year and approximately 40,000 die. Dengue has become a global problem since the Second World War. It is common in more than 120 countries, mainly in Southeast Asia, South Asia and South America. About half a million people require hospital admission every year. Paracetamol is recommended instead of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) for fever reduction and pain relief indengue due to an increased risk of bleeding from NSAID use. In 2019 a significant increase in the number of cases was seen. The earliest descriptions of an outbreak date from 1779. Its viral cause and spread were understood by the early 20th century. Apart from eliminating the mosquitos, work is ongoing for medication targeted directly at the virus. The virus has five serotypes; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. The incubation period ranges from 3 to 14 days, but most often it is 4 to 7 days. Children often experience symptoms similar to those of the common cold and gastroenteritis and have a greater risk of severe complications, though initial symptoms are generally mild but include high fever.
In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into severe d Dengue, also known as dengUE hemorrhagic fever. This may result in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengu shock syndrome. The critical phase, while rare in young adults, occurs more commonly in relatively young adults and young adults. The fever itself is classically bip bip bip or saddleback in nature, breaking and then returning for one or two days. During this period, there is leakage from the blood vessels, typically lasting one to two days as some people are some people have a critical phase. This can result in fluid accumulation in the chest and abdominal cavity as well as depletion of fluid from the circulation and vital organs. A rash described as ‘islands of white in a sea of red’ has also been observed. A number of tests are available to confirm the diagnosis including detecting antibodies to the virus or its RNA. As of 2018, the vaccine is only recommended in individuals who have been previously infected, or in populations with a high rate of prior infection by age nine. However, those who have previously been infected with other serotypes of dengued virus are at an increasedrisk of increased risk. The vaccine is commercially available in a number of countries and is only available in countries with high rates of infection by the age of nine. It has been approved for use in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
You want to know more about Dengue fever?
This page is based on the article Dengue fever published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
