Bangkok – Chulalongkorn University says that 80% of dengue patients don’t show symptoms, making the disease more dangerous and sometimes fatal.
Teerapong Tantawichien, MD, Professor of Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University said there are no fewer than 100,000 cases of dengue fever reported every year in Thailand and 70-80% of those cases did not exhibit symptoms which can include high fever, rashes, and muscle and joint pain, headache, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting.
A dengue vaccine is 65% effective among those who have contracted the disease before, he said, adding that 80% of vaccinated persons can avoid hospital admission and up to 93% don’t experience severe symptoms.
He cautioned however that those who haven’t been infected with the virus and decide to get vaccinated will have a greater risk of encountering severe symptoms if they actually come down with the disease.
He has advised all hospitals to inspect personal medical records before giving out dengue vaccines.
