Dengue fever in the Western Hemisphere

Dengue virus, an arthropod-borne viral agent, causes two distinct diseases: classic dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). There are four dengue virus serotypes: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4. Although infection with dengue stimulates immunologic response to a serotype, there is no cross-immunity conferred. Hence, a person can potentially be infected with each serotype during his or her lifetime. An infected female Aedes mosquito transmits the virus from person to person while feeding. The disease, now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific, is spreading to new areas and causing explosive outbreaks. Because of the major impact on lives and local economies epidemics produce, rapid detection of dengue infection has become an important public health research issue. Recently developed serological procedures to detect dengue infections have shown great potential for field use.