New WHO/TDR dengue guidelines can save lives and bolster research

The new edition of "Dengue: Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention and Control" received an especially favorable review in this year's BMA Medical Book Competition. Since the last edition of the book over a decade ago, the magnitude of the dengue problem has increased significantly and has spread in many previously unaffected regions of the world.

Dengue is a viral infection, transmitted by mosquitoes, which can cause shock, bleeding, organ impairment and ultimately death. The new edition of the guidelines encompasses a decade of research, and provides health practitioners and officials with the latest information on clinical management and delivery, vector control, laboratory diagnosis, and surveillance and response. A revised Dengue disease classification system was introduced with the guidelines, in order to distinguish between different types and levels of severity of the disease. Many endemic countries now use the new disease classification in their reporting to public health authorities.