Symptoms of Dengue Fever in Relation to Host Immunologic Response and Virus Serotype, Puerto Rico, 1990–1991
Claudine Cobraa b, José G. Rigau-Pérezc d✉, Goro Kunoe f, Vance Vomdamc d
- aDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- bDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene & Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- cDengue Branch, Division of Vector-Borne infectious Diseases, National Center for infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention San Juan, PR
- dDengue Branch, Division of Vector-Borne infectious Diseases, National Center for infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSan Juan, PR
- eDivision of Vector-Borne infectious Diseases, National Center for infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fort Collins, CO
- fDivision of Vector-Borne infectious Diseases, National Center for infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFort Collins, CO
- ✉Corresponding author
Papers open inside SciRah from the original publisher or repository; SciRah never hosts them.
Abstract
The authors investigated the role of secondary immunologic response, virus serotype, age, and sex on the clinical manifestations of dengue fever in Puerto Rico. From surveillance data for 1990 and 1991, this study identified 3,926 laboratory-positive cases, including 889 for whom dengue immunologic status and symptoms could be ascertained. Of those, 622 cases were virologically confirmed, and 267 cases were serologically confirmed. More than 50% of all positive patients reported fever, chills, headache, eye pain, body pains, joint pains, nausea, vomiting, or skin rash. The frequency of reporting signs, symptoms, and hospitalization was significantly higher among persons with secondary infections diagnosed by serological methods. Only rash was more common among those with primary infections. Symptom reporting increased with age; body pains, joint pains, and rash were significantly more frequently reported by female patients. No significant difference in symptom frequency was found among the virologically confirmed cases, comparing primary and secondary cases or infections due to different serotypes. The data for serologically confirmed cases suggest that in Puerto Rico the manifestations of dengue fever are, as with dengue hemorrhagic fever in Asia, more prominent among those who are experiencing secondary infections, and this effect may be more marked in the younger age groups.
TL;DRThe data for serologically confirmed cases suggest that in Puerto Rico the manifestations of dengue fever are more prominent among those who are experiencing secondary infections, and this effect may be more marked in the younger age groups. (Semantic Scholar)