[Dengue infection in children and adolescents in Panama].
BACKGROUND
Dengue is a serious emerging infectious disease and constitutes a major international health concern.


METHODS
All reports of confirmed dengue infection in patients aged less than 18 years old between 2000 and 2005 were included. A confirmed diagnosis was established by culture of the virus within the first 3 days of symptom onset or by serologic assays 5-30 days after symptom onset. Clinical and epidemiological features were analyzed.


RESULTS
A total of 457 patients were included (57.6 % female). The median age was 13 years (IQR 5 6). A greater number of cases were detected in urban areas and during the rainy season (May-November). Two epidemics were reported in 2001 (33.9 %) and the first eight months of 2005 (23.1 %). The most prevalent symptoms were fever (95.2 %), severe headache (74.2 %), chills (65.9 %), rash (63.5 %), myalgias (51.9 %) and retro-orbital pain (51.6 %). No significant differences were found between male and female patients. Significant differences in clinical features were found when the patients were divided into 3 groups; < 5 years old, 6-10 years old and > 10 years old. Fifty-three percent of the patients had had previous contact with a dengue-infected individual. There were 7 patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever, 4 of whom died.


CONCLUSIONS
Dengue virus infection is still a major health problem in Panama. To achieve effective control of dengue, further epidemiological studies, such as our own, are needed to design appropriate preventive measures.
Larrú Martínez
B
B
Hospital Universitario La Paz, Modesto Lafuente 59, 28003 Madrid, Spain. bealarru@yahoo.es
Quiroz
E
E
Bellón
J M
JM
Esquivel
R
R
Nieto Guevara
J
J
Sáez-Llorens
X
X
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010176:Panama / Q000453:epidemiology