Severe neonatal dengue with confirmed vertical transmission of DENV-3: A fatal case from Honduras

Dengue virus (DENV) infection is a major public health concern, with an estimated 390 million infections annually. Although typically self-limiting, dengue can progress to severe, life-threatening complications in high-risk groups such as neonates. Vertical transmission has been reported in up to 22.7 % of pregnancies complicated by maternal dengue. We report a fatal case of severe neonatal dengue due to DENV-3, confirmed by RT-PCR in both mother and infant. The neonate, born at 38 weeks of gestation via cesarean section to a mother with severe dengue and preeclampsia with severe features, complicated by HELLP syndrome, developed hemodynamic instability and died on day 11 of life. The mother also died shortly after delivery despite intensive management. This case highlights the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of congenital dengue, especially in resource-limited settings. The presence of DENV-3 in both mother and neonate, with fatal outcomes in both, highlights the need for early recognition, timely intensive care, and further investigation into serotype-specific risks.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  IDCases

• Publication date

  2025-11-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.idcr.2025.e02423PMID 41311669PMCID 12650775
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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