Dengue fever
Dengue fever is caused by infection with the dengue virus. This viral infection is caused by the bite of an Aedes mosquito that carries this virus. causing the virus to enter the bloodstream Then the sickness occurred. There are 4 serotypes of dengue virus, most of which, when infected with one serotype, are immune to that serotype for life. but can also infect other remaining strains.
epidemiology
Both children and adults are susceptible to dengue fever. In the past, dengue fever usually occurred in young children. Rarely seen in adults But now it is found in older children, adults and the elderly. This may be due to a change in population structure. there are more elderly people in conjunction with changing lifestyles Children are less likely to be bitten by mosquitoes. So it’s not a childhood disease. therefore becoming an adult during the year 2022, there were more outbreaks of dengue fever compared to the past 2 years. It is noteworthy that during the outbreak of COVID-19 The outbreak of dengue fever has clearly decreased. A survey found that mosquito larvae decreased during this period. It is expected that during the outbreak of COVID-19 More and more people are staying at home. Resulting in more time to limit mosquito breeding sites. However, from January to March 2023, about 6,000 people have been infected.
severity of hemorrhagic fever
Patients infected with dengue virus And most dengue fever symptoms are mild. Some people do not need to be treated at the hospital. Few had to be treated at the hospital. And in the number of patients who need to be treated in hospital, very few will have severe symptoms.
The severity of dengue hemorrhagic fever can be caused by the following reasons:
1. The patient may have a lot of bleeding. (according to the name of the disease, dengue fever) due to low platelet count and abnormal blood clotting The most common dangerous bleeding condition in this disease is gastrointestinal bleeding. The patient will vomit blood. Bloody or black stools
2. Patients with severe symptoms will leak blood plasma into the tissues. including pleural space or in the abdomen There are 2 main components in the blood of normal people, which are blood cells. and the lymphatic part also known as plasma In patients with hemorrhagic fever with plasma leakage As mentioned above, plasma leaks out of the blood vessels. Causing the body to lose fluids, causing low blood pressure or shock if there is a large leakage of plasma or have a state of shock that can lead to death
3. Patients with severe symptoms may have loss of vital organ function, such as liver failure, kidney failure, cerebral edema, low blood cells, and other complications. which can cause death as well
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nopporn Apiwattanakul, M.D.
Department of Infectious Diseases Department of Pediatrics
Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
