WHO reports dengue fever outbreak in Egypt

More than 250 cases of dengue fever were reported in Egypt last month, according to WHO.

The outbreak occurred in a village in the Dayrout district of Assiut Governorate. Patients developed fever, headache, body ache and abdominal pain with occasional vomiting and/or diarrhea and were hospitalized with acute febrile illness. WHO reported that patients are responding to treatment, and that multiple cases occurred in the same household. There have been no deaths.

Investigators assayed several oropharyngeal swabs, blood and serum samples with ELISA and PCR at the Central Public Health Laboratories. Twenty-eight of 118 serum samples were positive for dengue virus type 1, and the Naval Medical Research Unit Three laboratory confirmed the results.

Field epidemiologists, entomologists, sanitation and laboratory personnel continue to investigate the outbreak and are monitoring surrounding villages. Investigations revealed the presence of Aedes aegypti larvae and adult mosquitoes near the sites of reported cases. Since then, adult mosquitoes were removed from the area, and the presence of larvae declined from 25% to 0.5%.

Vector control measures continue to be implemented, WHO reported. Egypt’s ministry of public health developed a case definition of the disease and disseminated it to area physicians. A training workshop also was offered to health care workers to strengthen their ability to detect and promptly manage cases.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with one of the four dengue virus serotypes; it affects infants, young children and adults, according to WHO. Symptoms can appear 3 to 14 days after the infective bite, causing mild-to-incapacitating high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain and rash. There is no vaccine or medicine used to treat dengue.