Dengue fever (DF) is a serious and potentially life-threatening infection caused by one
of four closely related dengue viruses (Gubler 1998). DF is transmitted by the bite of an
Aedes mosquito infected with a dengue virus. Common symptoms, which usually begin
four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, include high fever, headaches,
pain behind the eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and skin rash,
which appears three to four days after the onset of fever (Cardoso et al. 2011). Dengue
infection can present a more complicated symptom that includes dengue hemorrhagic
fever, characterized by high fever, damage to lymph and blood vessels, failure of the
circulatory system, or the dengue shock syndrome characterized by massive bleeding,
shock, and death (Guzman & Kouri 2003). Each year, approximately 100 million cases
of DF occur worldwide.
In Brazil, DF is endemic with periods of high incidence in the wet and warm
season, which depends on the circulating virus, the susceptible population, and other
factors that include socioeconomic and environmental conditions (Lagrotta et al. 2008).
There is currently no vaccine available for the four serotypes and control efforts focus
on dengue vector control and awareness campaigns in the population to not leave
*Corresponding author. Email: marcohorta@fiocruz