Dengue Fever: Symptom and Causes

Symptoms

Dengue fever begins with a sudden high fever, often as high as 104 – 105 degrees Fahrenheit, 4 to 7 days after the infection. Skin rash appears over most of the body 2 to 5 days after the fever.
Other symptoms include

• Fatigue
• Headache (pain especially behind the eyes)
• Muscle and Joint aches
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums)
• Low heart rate (bradycardia) and low blood pressure (hypotension) 

If the symptoms become more severe it is called dengue hemorrhagic fever characterized by blotchy rash, abnormal bleeding, and ultimately shock and organ failure. Dengue Shock Syndrome is the most severe form which usually occurs in children having a re-infection.

Causes

It is caused by four different but related viruses. It is spread by the bite of mosquitoes, most commonly the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which is found in tropic and subtropic regions.