[Dengue imported from Paraguay to Buenos Aires. Clinical and epidemiological report of 38 cases].

Thirty eight patients with classic dengue fever, were studied from December 1999 up to April 2000. All of them acquired the infection in Paraguay; 66% of patients arrived at Buenos Aires metropolitan area within the viremia period. Given Aedes aegypti abundance in the region they represent a high risk for local transmission. Unusual clinical findings in these patients were diarrhea (29%), transitory rise of seric aspartate aminotransferase (52%) and pruritic rash in all cases. Only 15.7% showed a biphasic course and none of the five patients with hemorrhages had a positive loop test. These observations show that dengue fever could be misdiagnosed as gastroenteritis or flue-like illness. These patients remain at risk of suffering hemorrhagic dengue. DEN 1 has not been reported in Buenos Aires. This fact and the unusual number of imported cases, represent a serious public health problem.