Dengue

9 Things Must Know About Dengue


dengue causes symptoms diagnosis treatment


Dengue is derived from African word "Denga" which means fever with haemorrhage.

And what are those 9 things about dengue disease everyone should know? Here is a compilation of what everyone should know about dengue:-

1. Cause
2. Signs and Symptoms
3. What not to do if suspected
4. Clinical diagnosis
5. Lab diagnosis
6. Treatment
7. Stages
8. Cause of Death
9. Recurrence

1. Cause of Dengue fever


Dengue is spread by Female mosquito AEDES AEGYPTI which sucks blood from infected body and during sucking her meal, she sucks DENGUE VIRUS. The disease is considered mostly in monsoon or rainy season when mosquito have easy supply of stagnant water to reproduce.



Mosquito- Aedes Aegypti, Virus- DENV (Dengue virus)

Aedes Egypti


Dengue virus or DENV is an RNA virus of five serotypes- DENV-1,DENV-2,DENV-3,DENV-4 and DENV-5 (DENV-5 announced in 2013).

2. Sign and Symptom


Most dengue affected people are without any symptoms or mild fever. Children are most susceptible to dengue and develop life-threatening conditions. This is the most important part. The early you suspect you have dengue, better the result from treatment.

Dengue fever triad = Fever + Rash + Headache

Dengue should be immediately suspected if you have:-

Fever (40°C/104F) 

with any 2 of following:-

These symptoms will start within few hours of mosquito bite and last for upto 14 days.

3. What not to do


Dengue reduces your platelet count and causes dehydration. Following things should be AVOIDED in all cases:-

 (These are contraindicated as these cause further platelet damage and worsen dengue.)



4. Clinical diagnosis of dengue


Once you reach the physician, he will immediately order the following tests:-

Why all these test? These tests reveal following to physician:-

>Complete blood test- Reveal marked reduction in platelet count (<100,00/cubic mm) called Thrombocytopenia. Also reveal Haemoconcentration.

>X-ray chest- This reveals pleural effusion in lung,mostly on right side. Bilateral (both sided) pleural effusion occurs in very severe cases of Dengue Shock Syndrome.

>Plasma thromboplastin time and prothrombin time- These are prolonged and thus mean prolonged bleeding time.


The lab diagnosis of dengue,though, differs from the clinical diagnosis.The approach is highly specific.


5. Lab diagnosis of dengue


The most specific tests for Dengue fever include:-

6. Treatment of Dengue


Dengue is caused by a virus, hence, no specific management of dengue is available till now (not even anti-viral drugs). However, only symptomatic treatment is done.

The symptomatic treatment of dengue involves:-

(A) Management of pain and fever-


Paracetamol is the only drug of choice in dengue. However, doses guidelines as per WHO are as follows:-
1 year 60 mg/dose
1–3 years 60–120 mg/dose
3–6 years 120 mg/dose
6–12 years 240 mg/dose.
A dose should be administered when body temperature is greater than 39°C, but no more than 6 doses should be administered in a 24-hour period.

(B) Maintaining Fluid levels-


 This is done by I.V fluids to prevent patient from going into shock stage.

A dose should be administered when body temperature is greater than 39°C, but no more than 6 doses should be administered in a 24-hour period.

Administration of I.V (intravenous fluid) is necessary as the patient has a >20% increase in haematocrit and early signs of circulatory disturbance (i.e. rapid pulse and worsening condtion).

(C) Hospitalization-


It becomes only solution when-


7. Stages of Dengue


Dengue presents in three stages from the time of biting by mosquito,.i.e., entry of dengue virus into human body. These stages are:-


(A) Symptomatic stage (Febrile stage)


 This is where the fever and other symptoms start. It peaks and remains for 2-7 days.

(B) Dengue haemorrhagic fever (Critical stage)


Fever comes down to normal body temperature. The plasma from blood capillaries starts leaking. This results in fluid accumulation in chest (pleural effusion) and abdominal cavity (ascites) while decreased blood supply to vitals. Cutaneous and intestinal haemorrhages are features of DHF.

(C) Dengue shock syndrome (DSS)


This is the most serious manifestation of dengue and results in untreated patients or vulnerable children. This is the cause of death.


Noting point is, in most people,dengue is less serious as :-

-Stage A can occur without symptoms (asymptomatic).
-Stage B can occur as Dengue Fever (DF) Syndrome which is self-limiting febrile illness affecting muscles and joints with severe back pain due to myalgia (and hence the name ‘break-bone’ fever).

8. Death in dengue


The cause of death is the end stage, Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) which is characterised by


The patient starts feeling letharzy, which follows by shock and coma and finally, death in untreated patients.

9. Recurrence of dengue


The last and tricky question that comes is- CAN I HAVE DENGUE AGAIN?

The answer to question is YES. Since Dengue has 5 seroptypes, any other can affect you even if you have been affected. Moreover, the condition is more serious if this happens. This is called Secondary infection.



Dengue is always a hot topic during monsoon season, and you don't want to miss out such an important endemic around you.  Hope we helped you. Feel free to share the page. Any doubts or suggestions or feedback is always welcome.
ANTI-DENGUE  DAY- 15th JUNE

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