Dengue in Peru: A quarter century after its reemergence

© 2015, Instituto Nacional de Salud. All rights reserved. A health problem each time more frequent and dispersed in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, including Peru where it entered in 1990, is dengue. It is produced by the dengue virus with four serotypes and transmitted by Aedes aegypti, a vector that coexists with humans and whose presence is favored by deficient sanitary, social and economic conditions. Manifestations of severe forms of the disease such as shock and bleeding, are related to the frequent co-circulation of the four serotypes and the emergence of new genotypes such as American / Asian serotype 2. The new classification of the disease by WHO as dengue with or without warning signs and severe dengue, is contributing to more timely diagnosis and treatment, enabling reductions in mortality. Of note is the need to highlight the surveillance of acute febrile illness and Aedes indices that contribute to a timely diagnosis and guide vector control measures through sanitary education and environmental management with community and intersectoral participation, in a creative manner according to ecological niches. An alternative for complementary prevention would be vaccination using tetravalent vaccines whose safety and efficacy must be guaranteed before its use in the population under the framework of comprehensive strategies.