Dengue: Symptoms, Warning Signs and Testing

Key points

• 1 in 4: about one in four people infected with dengue gets sick.
• Mild to severe: symptoms can be mild or severe.
• Emergency: severe dengue can become life-threatening within hours and often needs hospital care.

An adult Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue, feeding. CDC.

Symptoms

The most common symptom is fever, with any of:

• aches and pains: eye pain (typically behind the eyes), muscle, joint or bone pain, headache;
• nausea or vomiting;
• rash;
• any warning sign (below).

Common dengue symptoms. Graphic: CDC.

• Easily confused: mild dengue can look like other fevers.
• How long: symptoms usually last 2–7 days; most people recover in about a week.

Severe dengue: a medical emergency

About 1 in 20 people who get sick develop severe dengue, which can cause shock, internal bleeding and death. It can develop within a few hours.

Warning signs usually start 24–48 hours after the fever goes away. Go to a clinic or emergency room immediately if you or a family member has:

• belly pain or tenderness;
• vomiting at least 3 times in 24 hours;
• bleeding from the nose or gums;
• vomiting blood, or blood in the stool;
• feeling extremely tired, restless or irritable.

Warning signs of severe dengue. Graphic: CDC.

Testing

• See a provider if you have symptoms and live in or recently traveled to an area with dengue risk.
• Blood test: the only way to confirm dengue, though providers may treat based on signs and symptoms without it.
• Related viruses: the test may also look for Zika or chikungunya.

Sources

Based on "Symptoms of Dengue and Testing," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.