Understanding and Handling Dengue Fever

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  • Dengue fever, also known as Breakbone fever, Dandy fever, Duengero, or Seven Day Fever Dengue Type, is an acute viral infection spread by mosquitoes. If the illness develops into severe complications, it is called Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever or Dengue Shock Syndrome.
  • Dengue Fever in Taiwan, caused by the dengue virus, are carried by the mosquito species Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (also called the Asian tiger mosquito). There are 4 different serotypes of dengue virus, type I, II, III, and IV.
  • The primary form of Dengue Fever is characterized by a skin rash and a high fever (≧ 38 ℃) with severe pain in the head, the eye sockets, the muscles, the bones and joints. Other symptoms may include shaking chills, diarrhea, and vomiting. Bouts of extreme exhaustion may last for months after the initial symptoms.
  • The secondary from of Dengue Fever is the Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever or Dengue Shock Syndrome which happens when people with weakened immune systems as well as those with a second or subsequent dengue infection are believed to be at greater risk for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever. Warning signs include abdominal pain or tenderness upon touch, persistent vomiting, drowsiness or irritability, bleeding (e.g. bleeding gums, nosebleeds, vomiting blood, black or bloody stools), patches of unknown cause of skin bruising, or low blood pressure and shock.
  • After being bitten by a dengue virus carrying mosquito, a patient may remain asymptomatic for 3 to 8 days (up to 14 days). The patient becomes contagious from 1 day prior to symptom onset up to 5 days after symptoms have developed. Thus during this time, if the patient gets bitten by a Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito, the mosquito will carry the virus in a transmissible state and pass to others when bitten.
  • Protect yourself and make efforts to keep the mosquito population down：
    1. Home：
      • Install screen doors
      • Use mosquito coils or mosquito lamp
      • Put up mosquito nets around the bed
      • Clear vector breeding sources (ie. any stasis water pools including pans under pots, old tires, buckets left out, etc…) and practice “scan, empty, clean, brush” frequently by looking for possible breeding grounds and emptying the water and cleaning and brushing out the
    2. When going out, wear light-colored long-sleeved clothing and apply insect repellents to any exposed parts of the body.
    3. Patients with dengue fever should be extra cautious within the first 5 days after symptom onset of preventing any more mosquito bites.
  • Patients who are confirmed or suspected to have been infected by the Dengue virus but do not need to be admitted must follow-up at the Infectious Diseases Outpatient department as scheduled.
  • Please return to the hospital if there are the following symptoms (possible development into complicated Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever)：
    1. Symptoms worsening
    2. Persistent worsening symptoms even after fever subsided
    3. Severe abdominal pain
    4. Persistent vomiting
    5. Cold clammy extremities
    6. Extreme fatigue
    7. Irritability and restlessness
    8. Spontaneous bleeding (such as bloody stool or brown vomit)
    9. No urination for more than 4 to 6 hours

※Please call the 24-hour toll-free Infectious Disease Prevention hotline 1922 or a local department of health for any questions or more information.

 
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