Primarily a disease of the tropics, dengue (also called dengue fever) is an infectious mosquito-borne disease. It has been known as break-bone fever because
it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain.
The World Health Organization estimates 50 million cases of dengue infection occur each year. Between 100-200 cases are reported in the U.S. every year,
occurring mostly among Americans who have recently traveled abroad.
AT A GLANCE
What it is: Dengue is a disease that is passed from human to human via mosquitoes. People normally recover from it within two weeks.
Transmission: The disease is passed among humans by the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes.
Symptoms: Symptoms usually develop five to six days after a person has been bitten by an infected mosquito. The symptoms include very high
fever, severe headache, severe joint and muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, rash, and pain behind the eye.
A rash may appear all over the body three to four days after the fever begins. A second rash may appear later. Children normally do not have
symptoms.
Prevention: The best prevention is to try to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Use mosquito repellants containing DEET and dress in protective
clothing. Also, because Aedes mosquitoes bite during the day, take special precaution in the early morning hours before daybreak, and in the late
afternoon before dark.
Treatment: There is no specific treatment for dengue. Most people recover within two weeks.
