158 Hong Kong Med J Vol 15 No 2 # April 2009 # www.hkmj.org To the Editor—I read with interest the article by Chuang et al on “Review of dengue fever cases in Hong Kong during 1998 to 2005”.1 They have provided an excellent overview of the epidemiology, clinical, laboratory findings, and outcomes of patients presenting in their hospital with dengue. In India, dengue fever is endemic in many pla...

Because the prevalence of dengue fever in urban settings in Papua New Guinea is unknown, we investigated the presence of dengue using the NS1 antigen test in an outpatient-based prospective observational study at Port Moresby General Hospital. Of 140 patients with acute febrile illnesses, dengue fever was diagnosed in 14.9% (20 of 134; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 9.6-22.4). Malaria (2 of...

Fever and thrombocytopenia mostly associated with dengue hemorrhagic fever. But on certain condition of fever thrombocytopenia, we still seek another etiology such as chronic liver disease. How to clarify between in

Dengue, a global health threat, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in most tropical and subtropical countries. Dengue can range from asymptomatic, relatively mild dengue fever to severe and life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever. Disease severity and outcome is largely associated with the host immune response. Several candidate vaccines in clinical trials appear promising as effec...

BACKGROUND Dengue is a leading cause of severe illness and hospitalization in Vietnam. This study sought to elucidate the linkage between climate factors, mosquito indices and dengue incidence. METHODS Monthly data on dengue cases and mosquito larval indices were ascertained between 2004 and 2008 in the Dak Lak province (Vietnam). Temperature, sunshine, rainfall and humidity were also recorde...

Dengue infection has not been routinely investigated among pregnant women and parturients with acute febrile syndrome in endemic settings. Here, we report two cases of dengue fever detected at the time of delivery in parturients enrolled in a cohort prospective study conducted in a hospital in Recife, Brazil. The parturients reported fever onset within seven days prior to delivery, and dengue i...

BACKGROUND Yemen has witnessed several dengue fever outbreaks coincident with the social unrest and war in the country. The aim of the present study was to describe the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) of at-risk urban populations residing in Taiz, southwest of Yemen. In addition, factors possibly associated with poor preventive practices were investigated. METHODS A household-based,...

To determine the magnitude of the problem posed by primary dengue infection in children and the distinctive clinical clues that may differ from those with secondary infection, 996 children serologically diagnosed with dengue infection and admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Chulalongkorn Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand between 1988 and 1995 were retrospectively reviewed. One hundred and thirt...

OBJECTIVE To propose a mathematical method for the estimation of the Basic Reproduction Number, R0, of urban yellow fever in a dengue-infested area. METHODS The method is based on the assumption that, as the same vector (Aedes aegypti) causes both infections, all the quantities related to the mosquito, estimated from the initial phase of dengue epidemic, could be applied to yellow fever dynam...

BACKGROUND Currently, knowledge does not allow early prediction of which cases of dengue fever (DF) will progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), to allow early intervention to prevent progression or to limit severity. The objective of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that some specific comorbidities increase the likelihood of a DF case progressing to DHF. METHODS A concurrent c...