Dengue: The Fever That Could Kill You

1 The Dengue: Dengue fever (also known as breakbone fever) can cause high fever, severe joint and muscle pain, and vomiting. Dengue can be fatal, killing about 25,000 people yearly, even though there is no specific antiviral treatment for the disease; doctors simply treat the symptoms. If you live in or travel to areas where dengue fever cases have been reported, there are several things you can do to protect yourself from catching this potentially fatal illness. 2 Types of Dengue Dengue is a tropical disease caused by 4 different viruses. Only two viruses, DENV-1, and DENV-2 cause dengue fever. The other two, DENV-3 and DENV-4, cause dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), which can be deadly. While dengue fever can be uncomfortable and inconvenient for infected people, DHF is a much more severe disease that requires immediate treatment. Dengue has seen a rapid increase in cases globally in recent years; according to WHO figures, there were 390 million cases of dengue worldwide in 2010 (the l...