The dengue virus belongs to the Flaviviridae family. There are four closely related, but antigenically different virus serotypes: DENV1 to DENV4. An infection caused by one of them can cause dengue fever and, rarely, most severe form of the disease. The infection provides life-long protective immunity to the same subtype, but no immunity against the other three serotypes. Moreover, previous infection with a different subtype increases the chances of developing dengue hemorrhagic fever. This is due to a phenomenon called antibody dependent enhancement (ADE). In ADE, the heterotypic non-neutralizing antibodies form complexes with dengue virus, which infect mononuclear phagocytes with enhanced efficiency. Consequently, a higher number of host cells are infected, improving viral replication, worsening the clinical signs. Thus, this may also contribute to the development of neurological and other complications 1 . The neurological manifestations are mainly associated with DENV-2 and DENV-3. These serotypes were found in cases of encephalitis, meningitis and myelitis 2,3 . DENV-4 was also detected in brain cells by immunohistochemistry and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a patient with encephalitis 4 . The present article highlights some important points that should be addressed when evaluating a possible case of neurological complication of dengue virus infection.
Conflict of interest:There is no conflict of interest.
ABStrACtDengue is an important global public health problem. The World Health Organization estimates that 2/5 of entire world population are in risk of dengue infection. Almost 50 millions cases occur annually, with at least 20 thousand deaths. The etiological agent of this acute febrile disease is a single-strand positive-sense RNA virus of Flavivirus genus. It is an arboviral disease transmitted by Aedes sp. mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus). Most infected individuals present asymptomatic infection, but some may develop clinical signs. Therefore, a wide spectrum of illness can be observed, ranging from unapparent, mild disease, called dengue fever, to a severe and occasionally fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome. Currently, neurological manifestations related to dengue infections are increasingly been observed and appears as a challenge for medical practice. In this study the neurological complications of dengue infection will be reviewed, focusing a better understanding of the disease for the clinical practice.Keywords: dengue, nervous system, diagnosis. rESUMO A dengue é um importante problema de saúde pública. A Organização Mundial de Saúde estima que 2/5 da população mundial encontra-se em risco de desenvolver a infecção. Cerca de 50 milhões de casos ocorrem anualmente, com ao menos 20 mil mortes. O agente etiológico desta doença febril aguda é um vírus RNA, do gênero Flavivirus. Este arbovírus é transmitido pelo mosquito Aedes sp. A maioria dos indivíduos infectados apresenta infecção assintomática, porém alguns desenvolvem sintomas clínicos. Estes manifestações podem...