DENGUE: GLOBAL THREAT

Abstract

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease, which is currently an expanding global problem. Four closely related dengue serotypes cause the disease, which ranges from asymptomatic infection to undifferentiated fever, dengue fever (DF), and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). DHF is characterized by fever, bleeding diathesis, and a tendency to develop a potentially fatal shock syndrome. Dengue infection with organ impairment mainly involves the central nervous system and the liver. Consistent hematological findings include vasculopathy, coagulopathy, and thrombocytopenia. Laboratory diagnosis includes virus isolation, serology, and detection of dengue ribonucleic acid. Successful treatment, which is mainly supportive, depends on early recognition of the disease and careful monitoring for shock. A severity-based revised dengue classification for medical interventions has been developed and validated in many countries. There is no specific dengue treatment, and prevention is currently limited to vector control measures. The world's first, large-scale dengue vaccine efficacy study demonstrated its efficacy and a reduction of dengue disease severity with a good safety profile in a study of more than 30,000 volunteers from Asia and Latin America.