Lifestyle Characteristics and Knowledge About Dengue Among Patients Hospitalised with Dengue Fever

Dengue is caused by a virus of Flaviviridae family, there are four distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the virus identified as DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4).1 Dengue has been reported to be a re-emerging infectious disease that has widespread occurrence in more than 100 countries.2 WHO reported a 15 fold increase in the number of dengue cases over the last two decades, from 505,430 cases in 2000 to over 2,400,138 in 2010 and 3,312,040 in 2015. The death rate increased from 960 to more than 4032 during the years 2000 to 2015, most cases occurring in children.1,3,4 Southeast Asia region (82/262) reported the largest number of outbreaks, followed by the Western Pacific region (72/262) and the American region (65/262), recording more than 83.6% of outbreaks overall.5 Comparison of outbreaks according to countries worldwide from 1990 to 20156 indicates highest numbers of the outbreak occurred (58/262) in India, followed by China (38/262) and Brazil (24/262). In 2019 globally largest number of dengue cases were reported, and for the first time, dengue transmission was recorded in Afghanistan.1 Impact of Dengue on both human health and the global and national economies is alarming.7