Objective: A dengue outbreak occurred in Japan 2014. We investigated the characteristics of dengue infection among Japanese.
Methods: We investigated the medical charts retrospectively. Patients The study participants are patients who came to our clinic between 2008 and 2014.
Results: We investigated 4 domestic cases and 46 imported cases of Japanese with laboratory confirmation of dengue. Major symptoms were fever (100%), rash (86%), fatigue (84%), headache (81%), joint pain (66%), muscle pain (49%), and bleeding (6%). A late rash that appeared near the time of fever resolution was observed in 37 cases (74%). A total of 38/43 (88%) cases had low WBC count (<3,500 /μL) during the febrile period, 42/48 (88%) cases had a low platelet (PLT) count (<130×10(3)/μL), and 44/50 (88%) cases had a C-reactive protein (CRP) <2.0 mg/dL.
Conclusion: Patients with a high fever, late rash, fever-associated leukopenia, low PLT count, low CRP, and elevated aminotransferases are generally suspected of having a dengue infection.