Dengue Fever
is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a flavi-virus.
Sx - After an incubation period of 3 to 15 days:
fever, chills, headache, myalgias, retro-orbital pain with eye movement, lumbar backache, and severe prostration begin abruptly.
PE -
Legs: Extreme aching in the legs and joints.
Eyes: Bulbar and palpebral conjunctival injection.
Skin: Transient flushing or pale pink macular rash (particularly of the face) may occur.
LNs: Cervical, epitrochlear, and inguinal lymph nodes are often enlarged.
Next Steps
Dx - CBC (leukopenia, thrombocytopenia). CMP (elevated SGOT SGPT). Serologic testing (Positive IgM, IgG - serum IgM & IgG Ab level against Dengue virus). Antigen detection. PCR is usually done only in laboratories with special expertise.
Health Tips
Tx - Treatment is symptomatic. ORS/IVF. Acetaminophen 500mg TID. If severe: hospital admission w/ IVF, monitoring, blood/platelet transfusion . Prevention People in endemic areas should try to prevent mosquito bites. To prevent further transmission by mosquitoes, patients with dengue should be kept under mosquito netting until the 2nd bout of fever has resolved.