The resurgence of cases of serotype 3 of the dengue virus has health professionals concerned about the risks of a new epidemic of the disease.
The dengue virus has four serotypes, and the last time type 3 was prevalent was in the early 2000s, which means that many people do not have the antibodies to this version of the virus.
When infected by one of the four serotypes of dengue, the person becomes immune to all types of virus for a few months and, after a while, remains immune only to the type by which he was infected.
Another important epidemiological characteristic of dengue is that people experiencing the second infection may present a more severe condition if they have been contaminated by a serotype different from the first.
According to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz)four cases of dengue type 3 were registered this year, three in Roraima, in the North region, and one in Paraná, in the South of the country.
“We carried out the genetic characterization of the cases of infection by serotype 3 of the dengue virus. It is an indication that we may again have, perhaps not now, but in the coming months or years, epidemics caused by this serotype”, warned virologist Felipe Naveca, head of the Nucleus for Vigilance of Emerging, Reemerging and Neglected Viruses at Fiocruz Amazônia, in a note released by Fiocruz.
3 Cards_Photo_Gallery (4)Dengue is an infectious disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. With a higher incidence in the summer, its main symptoms are body aches and high fever. Considered a serious public health problem in Brazil, the disease can lead the patient to deathJoao Paulo Burini/Getty Images
***Photo-dengue-mosquito.jpgAedes aegypti has diurnal habits, can be found in urban areas and needs standing water to allow the larvae to develop and become adults, after the eggs hatch, within 10 daysJoao Paulo Burini/ Getty Images
***Photo-dengue-mosquito-2.jpgInfection of humans happens only with the bite of the female mosquito. Aedes aegypti transmits the virus through saliva when feeding on blood, which is necessary for eggs to be produced.Joao Paulo Burini/ Getty Images
***Photo-dengue-mosquito-3.jpgIn general, dengue has four serotypes. This means that a single person can be infected by each of these micro-organisms and generate permanent immunity to each of them. That is, it is possible to be infected up to four timesBloomberg Creative Photos/ Getty Images
***Photo-person-looking-thermometer.jpgThe first signs are usually not specific. They appear about three days after the mosquito bite and can include: high fever, which usually lasts 2 to 7 days, headache, body and joint aches, weakness, pain behind the eyes, skin rashes, nausea and vomitingGuido Mieth/ Getty Images
***Photo-person-lying-on-hospital-gurney.jpgIn the period of decrease or disappearance of fever, most cases progress to recovery and cure of the disease. However, some patients may experience more severe symptoms, which include bleeding and can lead to death.Peter Bannan/Getty Images
***Photo-person-in-front-of-toilet-vomiting.jpgIn severe cases, the symptoms are: persistent vomiting, intense and continuous abdominal pain, or pain when the abdomen is touched, loss of sensitivity and movement, bloody urine, mucous bleeding, dizziness and pressure drop, enlargement of the liver and red blood cells or red blood cellsPiotr Marcinski / EyeEm / Getty Images
***Photo-person-sitting-in-hospital-bed.jpgIn these cases, the symptoms result in shock, which occurs when a critical volume of blood plasma is lost. Signs of this state are clammy skin, rapid and weak pulse, agitation and low pressure.Image Source/ Getty Images
***Photo-person-lying-on-the-ground.jpgSome patients may also have neurological manifestations, such as seizures and irritability. Shock is short-lived and can lead to death within 12 to 24 hours, or rapid recovery after appropriate antishock therapy.Getty Images
***Photo-person-holding-medicine-in-hands.jpgDespite its severity, dengue can be treated with analgesics and antipyretics, under medical guidance, such as paracetamol or dipyrone to relieve symptoms.Guido Mieth/ Getty Images
***Photo-person-lying-on-hospital-stretcher-2.jpgTo complete the treatment, rest and fluid intake is recommended. In the case of dengue hemorrhagic fever, therapy should be carried out in the hospital, with the use of medication and, if necessary, platelet transfusion.Getty Images
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“The serotype 3 lineage that we detected is not the same that already circulated in the Americas and caused epidemics in Brazil in the early 2000s”, reports Naveca.
According to researchers from Fiocruz, there was a new introduction of genotype III of serotype 3 of the virus in the Americas, coming from Asia. This strain is circulating in Central America and has recently also infected people in the United States. Now, it has been identified in Brazil.
Of the four cases analyzed, three are indigenous to Roraima, that is, they correspond to patients who became infected in the state itself and have no travel history. The other case registered in Paraná was imported, diagnosed in a person from Suriname.
Symptoms
The symptoms of infection caused by serotype 3 are similar to those of other types of the virus. Find out what the symptoms are:
- High fever;
- Headaches;
- Body and joint pains;
- Weakness;
- Pains behind the eyes;
- Eruption;
- Itchy skin;
- Nausea and vomiting.
In the most severe form of the disease, the patient may experience severe abdominal pain, constantly vomit, have mucous bleeding and circulatory collapse.
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