Korean J Med.
2014 Mar;86(3):277-281. 10.3904/kjm.2014.86.3.277.
Dengue Fever
- Affiliations
-
- 1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea. litjacob@chol.com
- KMID: 1867355
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjm.2014.86.3.277
Abstract
- Dengue fever is a kind of viral disease which infects people through mosquito bite. It is present in 100 countries and about 5 million to 10 million people are inflicted with this disease every year. Since the 1980s, it has seen a dramatic increase across the globe. One of the reasons for the spread of the disease is that rapid industrialization and urbanization have destroyed the natural habitat of mosquitos. Additionally, dengue fever occurs mostly in underdeveloped countries. These countries have not implemented systematic epidemiological investigation and are yet to come up with effective methods in terms of prevention of mosquito bites. Moreover, more and more people have traveled the areas at risk of this disease. Global the incidence of dengue fever has increased and has also seen a rise in cases among the travelers. One can easily find a case in a clinical setting. On top of that, due to global warming and north warding of dengue occurring latitude in the northern hemisphere, Aedes albopictus which is the vector of dengue fever, has been found in JeJu island. This makes it a major concern that the mosquitos have inhabited the country. Prevention of dengue fever is important since antiviral agents and vaccinations are not still commonly used.
