What is dengue fever?

Dengue fever is an acute febrile illness caused by one of four related viruses of the flavivirus genus (DENV 1, DENV 2, DENV 3 or DENV 4). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dengue infects 400 million people worldwide each year. There is a severe form of this infection, called dengue hemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal without medical attention. The incubation period of the disease is five to seven days and it goes through three phases: febrile, critical and convalescent.

How is dengue fever spread?

In most cases, dengue fever is transmitted by mosquito bites, primarily from the genera Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, although infection is also possible from contact with infected blood, organs and other tissues, or from mother to child through breast milk.

What are the symptoms of dengue fever?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 75 percent of infections are asymptomatic. In cases where symptoms do occur, they usually include high fever (lasting 2 to 7 days), severe headache, joint and muscle pain, and rash. In addition to the above, patients infected with dengue hemorrhagic fever develop symptoms such as gum bleeding and hematemesis (vomiting with blood). With proper care, the death rate can be reduced to less than 1 percent.

Is there a vaccine against dengue fever?

A live, attenuated, quadrivalent vaccine is available to prevent dengue fever. It has been approved for application in a series of three doses (following a schedule of 0/6/12 months). The name of this immunization is Dengvaxia®, also known as CYD-TDV. It is developed by Sanofi Pasteur. However, this vaccine is only recommended for use in those who have previously been infected with dengue.

Where is dengue present?

As revealed by the CDC, dengue fever is present in most tropical areas of the world. Although its geographical distribution is similar to that of malaria, the risk of contracting dengue fever is higher in urban and residential areas.

Countries with frequent or continuous risk of dengue (1)

America and the Caribbean

• Mexico
• Guatemala
• El Salvador
• Costa Rica
• Panama
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Peru
• Bolivia
• Paraguay
• Brazil
• French Guiana
• Suriname
• Guyana
• Venezuela
• Nicaragua
• Honduras
• Belize
• Jamaica
• Cuba
• Haiti
• Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico
• British Virgin Islands
• U.S. Virgin Islands
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Guadeloupe
• Dominica
• Martinique
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Grenada
• Barbados
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Aruba
• Curaçao

Africa and Middle East

• Kenya
• Tanzania
• Yemen

Asia and Oceania

• Pakistan
• India
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Bangladesh
• Burma
• Laos
• Thailand
• Cambodia
• Vietnam
• Brunei
• Malaysia
• Sri Lanka
• Maldives
• Taiwan
• Hong Kong
• Philippines
• Indonesia
• Papua New Guinea
• Fiji
• Tonga
• New Caledonia

(1) CDC Yellow Book 2018