Dengue Fever Complication and Prevention | Dengue Virus Types and Characteristics

Dengue Fever Virus: Complication, Prevention, Types, Characteristics

Definition of Dengue Fever:

Dengue is a mosquito born infection which is caused by dengue virus. it is a viral fever caused by dengue virus. Dengue fever is an acute mosquito-borne viral illness of sudden onset with headache, fever, prostration, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands (lymphadenopathy), and rash.

Epidemiological Features of Dengue Fever:

It includes-

1. Agent: Dengue virus
2. Reservoir: Man and mosquito
3. Transmission cycle: Man → mosquito → Man
4. Host factors: Age and sex – All ages and both sexes are susceptible.
5. Environmental factors: Epidemics often during rainy season and post monsoon.
6. Vector: Mosquito (species of Aedes).
7. Mode of transmission: Female Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits the disease.
8. Incubation period: 2-7 days.

Serological Types of Dengue Virus:

It includes-

• DEN-1,
• DEN-2,
• DEN-3
• DEN-4.

Characteristics of Dengue Fever Virus:

All the properties of dengue fever have listed in the below:

• RNA virus,
• Enveloped,
• Human are the reservoir,
• Incubation period 2-7 days,
• Cytoplasmic replication,
• Female Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits the disease,
• Viraemia is present at the time of fever.

Complication of Dengue Fever or Virus Infection:

It includes the following-

1. Infection may be asymptomatic,

2. Spontaneous recovery,

3. Dengue haemorrhagic fever,

4. Dengue shock syndrome,

5. Other complications:

• DIC,
• Hepatitis,
• Encephalitis,
• Myocarditis,
• Cerebral haemorrhage or oedema.

Prevention of Dengue Fever Virus:

1. Mosquito control: the vectors of dengue fever (DF) and  Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) breed in and around the house.

a. Anti-larval measures:

• Environment control (source reduction): The environment should be cleaned up and got rid of water holding containers such as discarded tins, empty pots, and broken bottles and similar other artificial collection of water.
• Chemical control: Larviciding- temophos (abate) can be freely used in water collection.

b. Anti-adult measures: Residual sprays

c. Protection against mosquito bites:

• Use of Mosquito net,
• Use of Mosquito repellents (Diethyltolenamide).

2. Notification: Occurrence of epidemics needs to be reported.

3. Appropriate treatment of dengue fever (DF) and  Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF).

4. Vaccine:

• A live attenuated vaccine effective against all 4 strains of the dengue virus.
• Clinical traits in adult volunteers have shown the vaccine to be safe and the immunological response to be encouraging.

More questions related to this article:

1. What is dengue?
2. Write down the epidemiology of dengue fever.
3. Write down the causative agent and mode of transmission of dengue.
4. What are the dengue viruses?
5. Write down the important characteristics of dengue virus.
6. What is dengue virus?
7. How can you prevent dengue fever?
8. Write down the preventive measures of dengue fever.
9. Write down the outcomes of dengue virus infection.

Maria Mona

Maria Khatun Mona is a Founder and Editor of Nursing Exercise Blog. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Expert. Currently she is working as a Registered Nurse at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has great passion in writing different articles on Nursing and Midwifery. Mail her at “[email protected]”