Dengue fever

Updated: 2023-10-17

Description

A disease spread by mosquitoes that occurs in tropical and subtropical areas of the world.

Overview

Dengue fever is caused by four types of dengue viruses. Mosquitoes spread the viruses when they bite people with an infection and then bite another person. Getting one dengue virus means a person has long-term protection from that type but can still get sick from the other three types. Risk of severe dengue fever increases with each infection.

Symptoms

Symptoms of dengue fever start about 4 to 10 days after infection. High fever, rash, and muscle and joint pain are common symptoms. Severe dengue symptoms include very bad stomach pain and blood loss from the nose and gums or through vomit or stool. Severe dengue can lead to shock and death.

Treatments

While recovering, drink plenty of fluids. For muscle pain or fever, consider pain relievers available without prescription, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others). Avoid pain relievers that increase bleeding risk including aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve). Severe dengue fever is treated in the hospital.