CDC SAYS DENGUE VIRUS INFECTION MAY BE UNDER REPORTED IN U.S..

FROM:  CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

Fatal Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Associated with Locally Acquired Dengue Virus Infection — New Mexico and Texas, 2012

Dengue may be under recognized in the United States; clinicians should request diagnostic testing of suspected dengue cases and report confirmed cases to state and local health departments. This report describes a woman who was infected with dengue virus in the southern United States and died from a rare complication of dengue called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. The woman was initially diagnosed with West Nile fever and was not suspected of having dengue because the symptoms are sometimes associated with bleeding. Most people with dengue will not have severe bleeding, which is diagnostically linked with the disease. This case may suggest that there are more unrecognized cases of dengue in the United States. Although dengue outbreaks have recently occurred in Florida, Texas and Hawaii, the largest disease burden in the 50 United States will continue to be in travelers. Individuals who travel to areas where dengue is common should protect themselves from mosquito bites to reduce their risk of infection.