Congenital dengue infection: Are we missing the diagnosis?

Abstract

Neonatal dengue is now being increasingly reported for changing epidemiology and improved rapid detection methods. Vertical transmission with dengue virus is concordant with rules of nanomedicine and may present differently in newborns from what we normally see in older children. It may have prolonged symptomatology and protracted thrombocytopenia. There are no specific guidelines for neonatal dengue management. There is dearth of standard literature about neonatal dengue per se and most recommendations are based on experiences with older children and adults. The unique pathogen–host interaction complicates dengue vaccine development and creates provocative questions in vaccine development. We present a case report of neonatal dengue with review of literature. A day 8 old newborn with maternally acquired dengue was admitted in our NICU and had an eventful course. This congenital dengue infection case gives us good learning experiences in a not so well understood entity.