case report of dengue encephalitis: an atypical neurologic manifestation of dengue fever in adults

Dengue fever is a febrile disease caused by infection from one of the four dengue virus serotypes [DENV1, DENV2, DENV3 and DENV4]. The clinical manifestations of dengue fever are broad-spectrum, ranging from asymptomatic to life threatening, shock syndrome. Usually, the dengue virus doesn't cause neurologic manifestations, but recently this has been documented in some cases. We report a case of dengue encephalitis in a 42- year-old gentlemen from Bangladesh who was presented with a history of altered level of consciousness associated with headache, subjective fever, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. Blood test results of Dengue Immunoglobulin M [IgM] antibodies and polymerase chain reaction [PCR] were positive. In addition, other causes of encephalitis were ruled out by appropriate laboratory investigations. Dengue Encephalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of fever with altered level of consciousness, especially in areas where dengue fever is endemic