Dengue (Break Bone Fever) - Medtick

Dengue (Break Bone Fever)

What is it?

An infectious viral condition that can spread very quickly via infected mosquitoes.

  • The time taken to develop symptoms is five to eight days after being bitten and recovery period varies from four days to seven days normally, sometimes it can be a few weeks to many.
    It can lead to the fatal condition dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome.

Outbreaks occur particularly during rainy season where there is fresh standing water and puddles and in high dense populated areas surrounded in this environment:

  • Africa
  • Caribbean
  • Hawaii
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • Mexico
  • Malaysian regions
  • Pacific islands
  • South and Central America
  • South East Asia

Countries affected are:

Caribbean

  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Aruba
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Bonaire
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Cayman Islands
  • Cuba
  • Curaçao
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Grenada
  • Guadeloupe
  • Haiti
  • Jamaica
  • Martinique
  • Montserrat
  • Puerto Rico
  • Saba
  • Saint Barthelemy (French Territorial Collectivity)
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Martin (French Territorial Collectivity)
  • Sint Eustatius
  • Sint Maarten
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Turks and Caicos
  • US Virgin Islands

North America

  • Bermuda
  • Mexico
  • United States of America (Alaska, Hawaii, Oahu, Maui)

Central America

  • Belize
  • Costa Rica
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Nicaragua
  • Panama

South America

  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Chile (Easter Island)
  • Colombia
  • Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)
  • French Guiana
  • Guyana
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Suriname
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela (Margarita Island)

Europe & Russia

  • France (Corsica)
  • Portugal (Azores, Madeira)
  • Spain (Spain Majorca, Minorca, Balearic Islands, Ibiza, Formentera, Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura)

Africa

  • Angola
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Comoros
  • Côte d’Ivoire
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Djibouti
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Kenya
  • Madagascar
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Mayotte
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Nigeria
  • Réunion
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Togo
  • United Republic of Tanzania (Zanzibar)

Middle East

  • Saudi Arabia
  • Yemen

Asia

  • Afghanistan
  • Pakistan
  • Bangladesh
  • Bhutan
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cambodia
  • China
  • Hong Kong
  • Laos
  • Macao
  • Malaysia (Sarawak, Sabah)
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • India
  • Philippines
  • South Korea (Korea, Republic of Korea)
  • Singapore
  • Sri Lanka
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Timor-Leste
  • Vietnam

Australasia and Pacific

  • American Samoa
  • Australia
  • Christmas Island
  • Cook Islands
  • Federated States Of Micronesia
  • Fiji
  • French Polynesia
  • Guam
  • Marshall Islands
  • Nauru
  • New Caledonia
  • Niue
  • Northern Mariana Islands
  • Palau
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Pitcairn
  • Samoa
  • Solomon Islands
  • Tonga
  • Tuvalu (Ellice Islands)
  • Vanuatu
Ibuprofen cannot be used in dengue because of side effects such as gastritis, increased risk of bleeding , blood thinning properties, thrombocytopenia [condition that occurs when the platelet count in your blood is too low, (platelets help with healing process) ] and dengue fever bleeding complications. Paracetamol can be given in dengue only under medical supervision because of risk of paracetamol/acetaminophen associated hepatatoxicity.

Cause

  • Virus: Dengue virus or Flavirideae flavivirus (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, or DENV-4 virus)
  • Bite of a type of  the infected female mosquito (Aedes aegypti) which belongs to the Flaviviridae family (similar to encephalitis  and/or Zika virus and/or Yellow fever causing mosquitoes) during the day especially during hours of dawn and dusk.

Symptoms

  • High temperature greater than 38°C (100°F) or over and/or chills and sweats up to five days)?
  • Severe pain behind the eyes?
  • Mild bleeding gums?
  • Facial flushing?
  • Joint stiffness and pain  especially of the knees and shoulders?
  • Aching, painful muscles, muscle cramps/spasms/stiffness especially lower back, arms and legs?
  • Headache which is on and off or a constant headache longer than 24 hours?
  • Flat red skin rash (red spots that run together) appearing two to days after fever starts and then a second rash (looks like measles rash) starts as condition continues starting from the trunk, spreading to limbs and face?
  • Bruised skin?
  • Abdominal pain and/or are constant violently vomiting or vomiting longer than two days (one day if a child)?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Medical Emergency Condition

And/or do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:

  • Dengue haemorrhagic fever
    • Bleed from nose and gums, stools
    • Abdominal pain and/or are constant violently vomiting or vomiting longer than two days
    • General discomfort (muscle weakness), uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise) and/or fatigue (tiredness)
    • Weak pulse and clammy skin
    • Breathing difficulties
  • Dengue shock syndrome

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Dengue (Break Bone Fever) in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

  • NHS

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  • Medscape

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  • Pharmaceutical Journal

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  • Healthline

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  • Medical News Today

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  • WebMD

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  • Cleveland Clinic

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  • Mayo Clinic

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  • Drugs.com

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  • National Organisation of Rare Diseases

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  • Verywell Health

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  • Fit for Travel

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  • DR Axe

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