Clinical features of 62 imported cases of dengue fever in Japan.

To describe the clinical features of dengue cases in Japan, a retrospective study was conducted on 62 laboratory-confirmed Japanese dengue cases presented to Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital between 1985 and 2000. Age distribution was from 18 to 62 years old (mean, 31.5 years). All cases were imported from abroad and diagnosed as dengue fever. Clinical manifestations included fever (100%), headache (90%), and skin rash (82%). Laboratory examinations revealed leukocytopenia (71%), thrombocytopenia (57%), elevated levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (78%), and lactate dehydrogenase (71%). Antibody responses were consistent with that of secondary flavivirus infection in 60% of cases. Severity of symptoms in patients with primary dengue antibody response and those with secondary flavivirus antibody responses didn't show statistical significance. Dengue virus infection should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of febrile patients who recently entered Japan from tropical or subtropical countries.