05/09/2025
Dengue Fever 🩸💉🩺👇🌡️
Dengue fever is an acute viral infection caused by the dengue virus (DENV 1–4), transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
It’s common in tropical and subtropical regions.
🛑Transmission
• Vector: Aedes aegypti (and Aedes albopictus)
• Daytime biting mosquito
• Human–mosquito–human cycle
🛑Clinical Stages
1. Febrile Phase (2–7 days)
• Sudden high fever (up to 40°C)
• Severe headache, retro-orbital pain
• Muscle & joint pain (“breakbone fever”)
• Skin rash (maculopapular or petechial)
• Nausea, vomiting
2. Critical Phase (around day 3–7 of illness)
• Fever subsides, but risk ↑
• Plasma leakage → shock, effusions, ascites
• Bleeding tendency (gum bleed, petechiae, GI bleed)
• Thrombocytopenia & hemoconcentration
3. Recovery Phase
• Fluid reabsorption
• Rash may reappear (“white islands in a sea of red”)
• Gradual improvement
📌Warning Signs of Severe Dengue
🛑Seek urgent care if any of these occur:
• Severe abdominal pain or tenderness
• Persistent vomiting
• Bleeding (nose, gums, hematemesis, melena)
• Difficulty breathing (pleural effusion, ARDS)
• Lethargy, restlessness
• Hepatomegaly
• Rapid drop in platelet count with ↑ hematocrit
🛑Complications
• Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) – plasma leakage + bleeding
• Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) – circulatory collapse
• Multi-organ failure in severe cases
🛑Diagnosis
• Clinical suspicion in endemic areas
• Lab tests:
• CBC → leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, ↑ hematocrit
• NS1 antigen (early detection)
• IgM/IgG serology
• PCR (definitive but costly)
🛑Management
🛑No specific antiviral treatment → supportive care
• Fluid management: oral rehydration or IV crystalloids (guided carefully to avoid overload)
• Fever & pain: acetaminophen (avoid aspirin/NSAIDs → bleeding risk)
• Monitor: vitals, urine output, platelets, hematocrit
• Severe dengue: hospitalization, IV fluids, sometimes blood products
🛑Prevention
• No widely available antiviral cure; vaccines
