title: [Dengue infection: A common cause of febrile syndrome in patients from Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quibdó, a municipality in Chocó, has poor public services and weather and social conditions that favor dengue transmission. However, there are few studies about this problem in this district.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency of dengue infection in patients with acute febrile syndrome and to compare clinical features among dengue infected patients with other febrile diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted from January, 2008, to March, 2010. The study population comprised patients with febrile syndrome of seven or fewer days of evolution, recruited from hospitals in the town. Dengue diagnosis was made in serum samples by detection of IgM antibodies, NS1 antigen, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation. Clinical and laboratory information from the patients was obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period, 469 patients with acute febrile syndrome were recruited, of whom 98.3% were Afro-descendant. Dengue fever was found in 28.4% of the cases. Four dengue serotypes were identified with DENV-1 predominance. The ages ranged from zero to 76 years. From all patients, 70.7% of cases were classified as dengue without warning signs. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cough, nasal congestion and sore throat were significantly more frequent in patients with another febrile disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Active surveillance of the acute febrile syndrome allowed for the detection of undiagnosed cases of dengue; the observed frequency of this infection suggests that the study area has a high risk of dengue infection.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Colombiano de Medicina Tropical, Universidad CES, Sabaneta, Colombia.
authors.forename: Berta Nelly
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Restrepo
authors.affiliation: Instituto Colombiano de Medicina Tropical, Universidad CES, Sabaneta, Colombia.
authors.forename: Leidy Diana
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Piedrahita
authors.affiliation: Instituto Colombiano de Medicina Tropical, Universidad CES, Sabaneta, Colombia.
authors.forename: Ivony Yireth
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Agudelo
authors.affiliation: Institución Universitaria Colegio Mayor de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marín
authors.affiliation: Instituto Colombiano de Medicina Tropical, Universidad CES, Sabaneta, Colombia.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramírez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003105:Colombia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003715:Dengue / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013577:Syndrome; D055815:Young Adult