By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Marshall Islands

According to an update from the Government of the Marshall Islands, to date there have been 607 suspect dengue fever cases (DEN-3 outbreak) of which 161 have been lab confirmed, including the 51 cases reported in the past week.

All the cases have been reported in Ebeye (256) and Majuro (351) and no cases have been seen in outer atolls to date. 178 people required hospitalization and one death was reported from Majuro.

Aedes aegypti/CDC

Yap State

A total of 75 new dengue cases were seen during epi week 39 (14% increase from week 38) bringing the total of 760 cases since January 1, 2019.

The overall attack rate for Yap is 16.4/1000 and highest among the 10-14 years old age group at 73/1000. Majority of cases (79%) are less than 20 years old. 7 cases were admitted, bringing the total of admissions up to 75 in all. Out of the 7 admissions, 5 cases had DHF bringing the total of DHF up to 40. 2 out of the 7 admissions had leptospirosis co-infection, bringing the total of co-infection admission up to 24. Rehydration visits this week was 22, bringing the total up to 521. There is one death this week due to dengue and lepto co-infection.

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Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. There are four closely related but antigenically different serotypes of the virus that can cause dengue (DEN1, DEN 2, DEN 3, DEN 4).

  • Dengue Fever (DF) – marked by an onset of sudden high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, and pain in muscles and joints. Some may also have a rash and varying degree of bleeding from various parts of the body (including nose, mouth and gums or skin bruising).Dengue has a wide spectrum of infection outcome (asymptomatic to symptomatic). Symptomatic illness can vary from dengue fever (DF) to the more serious dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
  • Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) – is a more severe form, seen only in a small proportion of those infected. DHF is a stereotypic illness characterized by 3 phases; febrile phase with high continuous fever usually lasting for less than 7 days; critical phase (plasma leaking) lasting 1-2 days usually apparent when fever comes down, leading to shock if not detected and treated early; convalescence phase lasting 2-5 days with improvement of appetite, bradycardia (slow heart rate), convalescent rash (white patches in red background), often accompanied by generalized itching (more intense in palms and soles), and diuresis (increase urine output).
  • Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) — Shock syndrome is a dangerous complication of dengue infection and is associated with high mortality. Severe dengue occurs as a result of secondary infection with a different virus serotype. Increased vascular permeability, together with myocardial dysfunction and dehydration, contribute to the development of shock, with resultant multiorgan failure.