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Cross Street Medical Clinic offers vaccination, screening tests and treatments for Dengue fever. Speak to our doctors today about what you may need. Female doctors are available by appointment.
What is Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is an infection caused by any one of four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes (called DENV-1, -2, -3, and -4).
Infection with one serotype provides future immunity to that serotype but does not provide immunity to the other serotypes.
Therefore, it is possible to contract dengue fever up to four times.
Dengue viruses belong to the genus Flavivirus—a family which includes other medically important vector-borne viruses (e.g., West Nile virus, Yellow Fever virus, Japanese Encephalitis virus, St. Louis Encephalitis virus).
The vector for dengue fever is the Aedes species mosquito.
Dengue fever is an important infectious disease in Singapore, where outbreaks of dengue fever occur regularly. You can get the latest update on dengue in Singapore from the following web page:
https://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/home/diseases_and_conditions/d/dengue.html
How do we contract Dengue Fever
Dengue viruses are transmitted primarily to humans through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus).
A mosquito is infected when it bites a dengue-infected person and later transmits the virus to other people they bite.
Dengue fever is not contagious and does not spread directly from person to person.
Transmission may occur through transfusion of infected blood or transplantation of infected organs or tissues.
Human transmission of dengue has been documented after occupational exposure in healthcare settings (e.g., needle stick injuries) and through vertical transmission (i.e., transmission from a dengue-infected pregnant mother to her fetus in utero or to her infant during labor and delivery).
How do we prevent infection and re-infection
Dengue prevention through vaccination:
A Dengue vaccine has been approved in Singapore for individuals aged 12 to 45 years.
Please take note that the vaccine is NOT Medisave claimable because it is not included in the national immunization programme.
Cross Street Medical offers Dengue fever vaccination. Consult our doctors today.
To prevent the spread of Dengue fever, you must first prevent the breeding of its vector, the Aedes mosquito. The Aedes mosquito is easily identifiable by its distinctive black and white stripes on their body.
It prefers to breed in clean, stagnant water easily found in our homes. Frequently check and remove stagnant water. Places to look for Aedes larvae include:
Outdoors – Clean water containers, like watering cans, flower planter dishes, animal watering containers
Indoors – Vases with fresh flowers or water plants (change water at least once per week)
You may consider using a mosquito repellant, or wearing long sleeves and trousers for additional protection.
How can we tell that we may have Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is usually a mild, non-specific febrile syndrome, followed by classic Dengue fever symptoms.
Dengue fever usually occurs within 3 to 14 days (commonly 4 to 7 days) after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Symptoms include:
• Sudden onset of fever for 2 to 7 days
• Severe headache with retro-orbital (behind the eye) pain
• Joint and muscle pain
• Skin rashes
• Nausea and vomiting
• Bleeding from the nose or gums or easy bruising in the skin
Recovery is sometimes associated with prolonged fatigue and depression.
Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF)/Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) is a severe form of dengue fever that can cause death. This complication affects approximately 5% of all Dengue fever cases.
In order to identify cases of DHF/DSS we look out for the three distinct phases:
• Febrile phase (4-7 days): Viremia-driven high fevers
• Critical/plasma leak phase (1-2 days): Sudden onset of varying degrees of plasma leakage into the lung and abdominal cavities (pleural effusion, ascites), causing low blood pressure and reduced blood supply to vital organs, severe bleeding and organ dysfunction
• Recovery phase or reabsorption phase (2-3 days): Reabsorption of leaked plasma and fluids back into the bloodstream
Testing for Dengue Fever
The diagnosis of Dengue fever may be confirmed by the following laboratory tests:
• Dengue virus cell cultures
• Dengue virus nucleic acid detection by PCR
• Viral antigen (NS1)
• Specific antibodies (IgM, IgG)
There is a test kit available:
• Dengue (testing IgM, IgG and NS1) diagnostic test (e.g., SD Bioline Dengue Duo)
• The test is carried out at the clinic and test results are available in about 15 minutes
Cross Street Medical offers vaccination, screening tests and treatment for Dengue fever. Speak to our doctors about what you may need.
Testing for Dengue Fever
There is no specific treatment for Dengue fever, DHF and DSS.
Treatment is targeted at confirming dengue infection early and referring patients at risk of developing DHF or DSS to hospital for admission. Treatment for Dengue fever is supportive. Follow-up blood tests must be done to confirm recovery.
In severe cases, hospitalization is recommended. Treatment may involve fluid and electrolyte replacement or blood transfusions.
Cross Street Medical offers vaccination, screening tests and treatment for Dengue fever. Our doctors will assess the risk of developing DHF/DSS. Speak to our doctors about what you may need.