Perfil epidemiológico e atualidades no tratamento e prevenção contra DENV2 no Brasil

Abstract

Dengue, a systemic infection caused by a virus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito is widely described in the literature as a major worldwide public health problem. Over the years, given the worldwide distribution and consequent occurrence of worldwide epidemics, dengue has become the target of relevant studies. Currently, it is known that dengue virus comprises five different serotypes, named: DENV-1, DENV2, DENV-3, DENV-4 and DENV-5. Among these, DENV-2 has been reported in many countries, including Brazil, as the serotype responsible for the highest severity of dengue. Here, the objective was to produce a bibliographic survey about the epidemiological aspects and etiological agents associated with DEN2, highlighting the current pharmacotherapy and the perceptive treatment and prevention. Thus, since the first records of DENV-2 infection in Brazil, this serotype has a wide national distribution, although the number of studies that characterize the epidemiological profile of dengue by serotypes is limited. As far as treatment is concerned, there is currently no pharmacotherapeutic scheme that can combat all dengue serotypes and this has serious socioeconomic implications as it results in high medical costs. Finally, although there are different studies focusing on the development of vaccine strategies, including virus-like particle approaches (VLPs), there is also a need to explore these approaches given the occurrence of adverse events and reduced efficacy.