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- Dengue em Portugal – Experiência da Região Autónoma da madeiraPublication . Castro, Leonor; Marçal, Filipa; Goncalves, Jenny F; Oliveira, Joana; Miranda, Victor; Freitas, Cristina; Barros, Andreia; Freitas, PedroIntroduction: Dengue is a self-limited viral disease, transmitted by infected Aedes mosquitoes. The introduction of the vector to the island of Madeira raised the menace of an epidemic outbreak. Despite the implementation of vector control measures, the first dengue outbreak was reported eight years after the first detection of the vector in the region. The objective of this study was to characterize cases in paediatric ages during the first outbreak of dengue in Madeira. Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational, descriptive study including children aged 0 to 14 years with laboratory confirmed dengue. Clinical, demographic and laboratory variables were characterized, followed by statistical analysis.Results: One hundred and eighty-two cases were confirmed by laboratory methods, predominantly male, mean age 9.6 years. The incidence was 413.5/100 000 population, the peak incidence being observed in November 2012. The most frequently described symptoms were fever (98.3%), headache (75.2%), myalgia (66.5%) and rash (51.6%). Bleeding was identified in 9.9% of cases. Of the paediatric cases,15.9% were admitted, with a mean duration of 3.8 days. No deaths were reported. Only the DEN-1 serotype was identified. Conclusions: The high density of the vector, together with susceptible hosts, may have triggered the outbreak following the introduction of the virus in the region. Given the possibility of a new outbreak, and since immunity is specific to the infecting serotype, vector management strategies and individual protection measures must be sustained.