Abstract
Background: Dengue fever is a frequent cause of morbidity in travellers. The objective was to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of dengue fever in Czech travellers.
Method: This descriptive study includes patients with acute dengue fever diagnosed at Hospital Na Bulovce during 2004-2013. Data were collected and analysed retrospectively.
Results: A total of 132 patients (83 males and 49 females) of median age 33 years (IQR 29-40) were included. Diagnosis was established by NS1 antigen detection in 87/107 cases (81.3%) and/or RT-PCR in 50/72 (69.4%) and by serology in 25 cases (18.9%).
Dengue was acquired in South-East Asia in 69 cases (52.3%), followed by South Asia (48 cases; 36.3%), Latin America (14; 10.6%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (1; 0.8%). The most frequent symptoms included fever, rash and headache.
Initial leukocyte and lymphocyte counts were lower in patients who presented in the early phase (0-4 days), however, platelet count was lower and AST, ALT and LDH activity higher in patients with a longer symptoms duration (>= 5 days). The clinical course was mostly uncomplicated.
Conclusions: Dengue fever is becoming a frequent cause of fever in Czech travellers. Clinicians should be familiar with the typical clinical findings and novel diagnostic methods.