Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes fever and generalized pain.
Dengue fever is common worldwide in the tropics and subtropics. Recently, some cases have occurred in Southern Texas. The infection is caused by an arbovirus and is transmitted by mosquitoes.
Dengue fever varies in severity. Children typically have a mild illness with low fever, fatigue, runny nose, and cough. The disease is more severe in adults, with fever, headache, and severe generalized body aches. These aches are often so painful that the disease has been called "breakbone fever." Some people develop bleeding from the nose, mouth, and digestive tract--usually after a second infection. Sometimes the blood vessels leak fluid into the lungs, causing difficulty breathing. Dengue fever is occasionally fatal.
Doctors diagnose dengue fever by growing the virus from blood specimens and by tests for antibodies to the virus. There is no specific treatment, but an experimental vaccine to prevent dengue fever is currently undergoing tests.
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