Dengue Fever : Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Each year, an estimated 100 million cases of dengue fever occur worldwide. Most of these are in tropical areas of the world. Dengue 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.
Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito (Aedes aegypti)  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.

Aedes aegypti

•     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.

Useful Phone Numbers

Emergency 28 de Agosto Hospital: +55.92.3656-2417
Emergency Children`s Hospital: +55.92.3611-1917
Foundation Institute of Tropical Medicine: +55.92.2127-3555
SAMU: 192 (Ambulance Service)

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