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Fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever imported into Germany

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Abstract

Dengue virus (DENV) is an arthropod-borne virus (family Flaviviridae) causing dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever. Here, we report the first fatal DENV infection imported into Germany. A female traveler was hospitalized with fever and abdominal pain after returning from Ecuador. Due to a suspected acute acalculous cholecystitis, cholecystectomy was performed. After cholecystectomy, severe spontaneous bleeding from the abdominal wound occurred and the patient died. Postmortem analysis of transudate and tissue demonstrated a DENV secondary infection of the patient and a gallbladder wall thickening (GBWT) due to an extensive edema.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Correspondence to J. Schmidt-Chanasit.

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Schmidt-Chanasit, J., Tenner-Racz, K., Poppert, D. et al. Fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever imported into Germany. Infection 40, 441–443 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-011-0208-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-011-0208-3

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