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Review
. 2014 Oct 2;8(4):e105-15.
eCollection 2014.

Dengue fever: a Wikipedia clinical review

James M Heilman  1 , Jacob De Wolff  2 , Graham M Beards  3 , Brian J Basden  4
Affiliations
Review

Dengue fever: a Wikipedia clinical review

James M Heilman et al. Open Med. .

Abstract

Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, which results in bleeding, thrombocytopenia, and leakage of blood plasma, or into dengue shock syndrome, in which dangerously low blood pressure occurs. Treatment of acute dengue fever is supportive, with either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or moderate disease and use of intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more severe cases. Along with attempts to eliminate the mosquito vector, work is ongoing to develop a vaccine and medications targeted directly at the virus.

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Conflict of interest statement

James Heilman and Brian Basden are board members of the Wiki Project Med Foundation. Jacob De Wolff is a board member of Wiki Project Med Foundation and the founder of WikiProject Medicine. Graham Beards is a Featured Article Coordinator for the English Wikipedia. No financial competing interests declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Maculopapular rash of dengue fever. Image file from Wikimedia Commons.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Dengue virus. Image file from Wikimedia Commons.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Aedes aegypti mosquito. Image file from Wikimedia Commons.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Dengue vector control, southern United States, 1920s. Image file from Wikimedia Commons.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Global dengue distribution in 2006. Image file from Wikimedia Commons.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Public health officers release Poecilia reticulata (guppy) fry into an artificial lake in Brasília, Brazil, as part of dengue vector control. Image file from Wikimedia Commons.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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