United States: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning about the record-breaking number of dengue cases in the US, affecting nearly 750 Americans.
Recent Developments
Recent reports indicated 27 cases of dengue fever in Illinois, along with 17 in Cook County.
On June 25, CDC officials published an alerting report about more than 9.5 million dengue cases reported across the countries of America, accounting for more than doubled when compared to 4.6 million cases reported in total in 2023, as nbcchicago.com reported.
Dengue: A Leading Arboviral Disease
Dengue is the most common arboviral disease globally, where it is spread by four closely related dengue viruses, transmitted via bites of mosquitoes, carrying deadly vectors, as CDC reports.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Symptoms appear in one in four cases, starting within five to seven days after an incubation period of three to 10 days. Common symptoms include vomiting, nausea, rash, joint and bone pain, eye and head pain, and low white blood cell counts.
Among several symptoms, the common ones include – vomit, nausea, rash on the body, pain in joints and bones, as well as in the eyes and head, and lesser amounts of WBCs, as nbcchicago.com reported.
Tests involved in diagnosing after symptoms appearance include
with both molecular and serologic ones, along with additional testing guidance provided by local public health departments.
Presently, no antiviral medications are being approved for the treatment of dengue. Therefore, treatment is primarily supportive, with triage, managing the symptoms, and follow-up critical in care for the disease, as stated by the health experts.
Moreover, no vaccine is currently there to be recommended for travelers, adults, or any other person without a previous dengue virus infection.