An insular outbreak of dengue fever in a rural south Indian village.

In mid 1990, an epidemic of fever affected a single village in Kaniyambadi Block, South India. The illness was characterized by a fever of approximately five days duration, accompanied by headache, chills, sweating and muscle pain. The overall attack rate was 22.5 per cent. The attack rate was uniform across the various age groups and between the sexes. Testing of the acute and convalescent serum samples obtained from cases showed a serological response to dengue virus. The Aedes house index in the village was found to be 36 per cent with toilets serving as active breeding sites. Adjacent villages studied showed similarly high rates of Aedes prevalence, although no cases of the same fever were seen. Since previous exposure to dengue increases the risk for epidemics of dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome, health education on methods of Aedes control is continuing.