Fatal dengue virus infection in an unvaccinated traveler

Jonathan Steinke; Veronica Di Cristanziano; Jan-Hendrik Naendrup; Dániel Cadar; Martin Gabriel; Roger Grosser; Noëlle Sieg; Lisa Altenrath; Jesko Welters; Alexander Simonis; Rosanne Sprute; Jorge Garcia Borrega; Gertrud Steger; Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit; Alexander Shimabukuro-Vornhagen; Henning Gruell

doi:10.1007/s10096-024-05021-4

Fatal dengue virus infection in an unvaccinated traveler

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024 Dec 28. doi: 10.1007/s10096-024-05021-4. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jonathan Steinke^#¹, Veronica Di Cristanziano^#², Jan-Hendrik Naendrup^{1

3}, Dániel Cadar⁴, Martin Gabriel⁵, Roger Grosser⁶, Noëlle Sieg^{1

7}, Lisa Altenrath¹, Jesko Welters¹, Alexander Simonis^{1

8

9}, Rosanne Sprute^{1

9}, Jorge Garcia Borrega¹, Gertrud Steger², Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit^{4

10}, Alexander Shimabukuro-Vornhagen¹, Henning Gruell¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Düsseldorf (CIO ABCD), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
² Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
³ The Institute for Research in Operative Medicine, Faculty of Health, Department of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Cologne, Germany.
⁴ Department of Arbovirology and Entomology, Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Hamburg, Germany.
⁵ Department of Virology, Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Hamburg, Germany.
⁶ Wisplinghoff Laboratories, Cologne, Germany.
⁷ Institute for Molecular Immunology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
⁸ Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
⁹ German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁰ Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
¹¹ Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39731618
DOI: 10.1007/s10096-024-05021-4

Abstract

Dengue is an increasing threat to individuals living in or visiting endemic countries. Effective vaccines have become available, but their use in travelers is typically only recommended to individuals with documented prior infection. We present a fatal case of severe dengue in an unvaccinated traveler without known prior dengue virus infection but longitudinal serologic and molecular evidence for secondary infection. In the context of this case and vaccination guidance for travelers, we discuss pre-vaccination screening, potential implications for travelers to regions with ongoing outbreaks, and emphasize the importance of serostatus-independent vaccines.