Dengue in the Dominican Republic: Epidemiology for 2004

The Dominican Republic (DR) has experienced tremendous increase in the number of cases of dengue virus (DENV) reported in the past few years. There are four serotypes of DENV (1-4), and each can cause classic dengue fever (DF), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), or dengue shock syndrome (DSS). DENV-1-4 are currently circulating in the DR; however, the Department of Epidemiology of the Dominican Republic (DIEGPI) has been able to isolate only DENV-2 and DENV-4. In the DR, the development of DENV infection occurred primarily in the second semester of the year. Since the DR instituted A vigilant approach to dengue infections, there have been three major outbreaks detected: one in 1998, one in 2000, and one in 2002. DF is the clinical presentation most currently seen at clinics, accounting for about 75% of cases, while patients with DHF account for about 19% of cases seen. Currently, there are seven provinces in which the total number of dengue cases per 100,000 inhabitants is higher than 32. With a vigilant approach, the DR should continue to see success in controlling the DENV outbreak.