Dengue fever

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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Factors that put you at greater risk of developing dengue fever or a more severe form of the disease include:

  • Living or traveling in tropical areas. Being in tropical and subtropical areas around the world — especially in high-risk areas, such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean — increases your risk of exposure to the virus that causes dengue fever.
  • Prior infection with a dengue fever virus. Previous infection with a dengue fever virus increases your risk of having severe symptoms if you're infected a second time. This is especially true for children.
References
  1. Frequently asked questions: Dengue. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/Dengue/faqFacts/index.html. Accessed July 21, 2011.
  2. Rothman AL. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of dengue virus infections. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 21, 2011.
  3. Nathan MB, et al. Dengue: Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2009. Accessed July 27, 2011.
  4. Vaughn DW, et al. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever. In: Mandell JE, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..X0001-X--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed July 27, 2011.
  5. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs117/en. Accessed July 27, 2011.
  6. Bell M. Viral hemorrhagic fevers. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed July 27, 2011.
  7. Rothman AL. Prevention and treatment of dengue virus infection. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed Aug. 3, 2011.
DS01028 Sept. 30, 2011

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