Minden, amit a dengue-lázról tudnod kell!
“Break-bone fever”
Dengue is widely spread in South and Southeast Asia and in some parts of Central and South America, and Africa. There are over 100 countries where Dengue occurs commonly, so the best is to keep track of recent outbreaks in the affected areas you are planning to travel to.
What are the symptoms?
A severe disease develops in around 5% of the cases and can lead to Dengue hemorrhagic fever with bleeding and dangerously low blood pressure. The mortality rate of Dengue is estimated to be generally 1-2,5% but it can be significantly higher if complications appear and if left untreated.
Can you get infected with Dengue more than once? Yes! Dengue virus has 5 serotypes and when you get infected with one, it gives you lifelong immunity only for that specific serotype and not for the others! Clinical experience and studies show, that when someone was previously infected with one of the serotypes, the person has an increased chance to have a more serious illness when getting infected with another serotype.
Dengue vaccines
As of July 2023, there are 2 vaccines available in the European Union: Dengvaxia and Qdenga. Both of them are live-attenuated vaccines designed to protect against 4 Dengue serotypes.
Dengvaxia is containing a weakened yellow fever virus that was modified to contain proteins from the Dengue viruses. It is available in the EU since 2017, but only those persons can receive it, who previously had a confirmed Dengue infection and live in a Dengue endemic area. Why? Because it increases the risk of severe Dengue in persons, who were never infected with Dengue before receiving the vaccine. This means, that if such an individual later gets infected with Dengue, the chance to have complications from the disease will be higher.
Qdenga is licensed in the EU since 2022 December and can also be given to persons, who have never had a confirmed Dengue infection before, in case they are planning to travel to Dengue endemic areas for a more extended period, regularly, or have a higher risk to get complications from Dengue infection due to their general health status.
