Pieruzzi Margherita Eleonora, Mileto Davide, Behring Alessandra Helen, Caronni Stefania, Mancon Alessandro, Vezzosi Luigi, Rizzo Alberto, Poloni Andrea, Gori Andrea, Giacomelli Andrea, Antinori Spinello
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20157 Milano, Italy.
III Division of Infectious Diseases, Luigi Sacco Hospital, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) Fatebenefratelli (FBF) Sacco, 20157 Milano, Italy.
Infect Dis Rep. 2025 Sep 12;17(5):113. doi: 10.3390/idr17050113.
Dengue fever is an arboviral infection transmitted by mosquitoes that has recently become a public health concern also in Europe, causing many outbreaks of autochthonous cases.
We retrospectively retrieved dengue cases in returning travelers from tropical areas diagnosed at the Luigi Sacco Hospital between January 2018 and December 2024. All patients with positive serology for DENV (IgM alone or IgM and IgG or neutralizing antibodies detection) and/or positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for DENV RNA on plasma and urine were considered. Analyses were descriptive.
This analysis included 159 travelers with confirmed ( = 138; 86.8%) or probable ( = 21; 13.2%) dengue fever. The median age was 38 years (interquartile range [IQR] 30-50); 87 (54.7%) were females. The median time between symptom onset and seeking medical attention was four days (IQR 3-6); 29.6% required hospitalization, with a median stay of four days (IQR 0-5). The most common symptoms included fever (100%), myalgia (52.2%), and headache (49.1%). Laboratory findings revealed thrombocytopenia (53.8%), leukopenia (64.1%), elevated ALT (51.9%), and LDH (60.2%). Among the confirmed cases, 128 (92.8%) were diagnosed with RT-PCR. Serotypes 1 and 2 were the most prevalent (28.9% and 27.3%, respectively). Most cases were classified as dengue without warning signs (150, 94.3%), eight cases (5.0%) as dengue with warning signs, and one as severe dengue.
Dengue fever is an important cause of fever among travelers returning to Italy from endemic areas. Although severe dengue is rare among travelers, further prospective studies need to address this issue. Diagnosis should be pursued by using molecular tools because of cross-reactivity with other arboviruses.
登革热是一种由蚊子传播的虫媒病毒感染，最近在欧洲也成为一个公共卫生问题，导致许多本地病例的爆发。
我们回顾性检索了2018年1月至2024年12月期间在路易吉·萨科医院确诊的来自热带地区的归国旅行者中的登革热病例。所有血清学检测登革病毒呈阳性（单独IgM或IgM和IgG或中和抗体检测）和/或血浆及尿液中登革病毒RNA实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）呈阳性的患者均被纳入。分析为描述性分析。
该分析纳入了159例确诊（n = 138；86.8%）或疑似（n = 21；13.2%）登革热的旅行者。中位年龄为38岁（四分位间距[IQR] 30 - 50）；87例（54.7%）为女性。症状出现至就医的中位时间为4天（IQR 3 - 6）；29.6%的患者需要住院治疗，中位住院时间为4天（IQR 0 - 5）。最常见的症状包括发热（100%）、肌痛（52.2%）和头痛（49.1%）。实验室检查结果显示血小板减少（53.8%）、白细胞减少（64.1%）、谷丙转氨酶升高（51.9%）和乳酸脱氢酶升高（60.2%）。在确诊病例中，128例（92.8%）通过RT-PCR确诊。血清型1和2最为常见（分别为28.9%和27.3%）。大多数病例被分类为无警示体征的登革热（150例，94.3%），8例（5.0%）为有警示体征的登革热，1例为重症登革热。
登革热是从流行地区返回意大利的旅行者发热的重要原因。尽管旅行者中重症登革热很少见，但需要进一步的前瞻性研究来解决这一问题。由于与其他虫媒病毒存在交叉反应，应使用分子工具进行诊断。
