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  1. Case Definitions/

Open Syndrome Dengue Fever

Authors: Vector Borne Disease Sector - Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health

Location: Malaysia

Purpose #

The definition #

Acute onset of high grade fever of usually 2-5 days or more associated with two or more of the following: headache, retro-orbital pain, myalgia, arthralgia, rash and mild haemorrhagic manifestation (epistaxis, gums bleeding and petechiae).

Machine-readable definition #

The definition is available in JSON format following the Open Syndrome v1.0 specification:

{
   "authors": [
     "Vector Borne Disease Sector - Disease Control Division"
   ],
   "category": "suspected",
   "definition_type": "case_definition",
   "description": "",
   "human_readable_definition": "Acute onset of high grade fever of usually 2-5 days or more associated with two or more\nof the following: headache, retro-orbital pain, myalgia, arthralgia, rash and mild\nhaemorrhagic manifestation (epistaxis, gums bleeding and petechiae).",
   "inclusion_criteria": [
     {
       "logical_operator": "AND",
       "type": "criterion",
       "values": [
         {
           "name": "Acute onset of high grade fever of usually 2-5 days or more",
           "type": "symptom"
         },
         {
           "logical_operator": "AT_LEAST",
           "logical_operator_arguments": [
             2
           ],
           "name": "Other symptoms",
           "type": "criterion",
           "values": [
             {
               "name": "headache",
               "type": "symptom"
             },
             {
               "name": "retro-orbital pain",
               "type": "symptom"
             },
             {
               "name": "myalgia",
               "type": "symptom"
             },
             {
               "name": "arthralgia",
               "type": "symptom"
             },
             {
               "name": "rash",
               "type": "symptom"
             },
             {
               "description": "e.g. epistaxis, gums bleeding and petechiae",
               "name": "mild haemorrhagic manifestation",
               "type": "symptom"
             }
           ]
         }
       ]
     }
   ],
   "keywords": [
     "Dengue",
     "Arbovirosis",
     "Asia"
   ],
   "language": "English",
   "location": "Malaysia",
   "open_syndrome_version": "1.0.0",
   "organization": "Ministry of Health",
   "published_at": "2025-01-29T12:00:00Z",
   "published_by": [
     "Open Syndrome Initiative"
   ],
   "published_in": "https://opensyndrome.org",
   "references": [
     {
       "citation": "Case Definition of Infectious Disease 3rd Edition 2017",
       "url": "https://www2.moh.gov.my/moh/resources/Penerbitan/Garis%20Panduan/Pengurusan%20KEsihatan%20\u0026%20kawalan%20pykit/Case_Definition_Of_Infectious_Disease_3rd_Edition_2017.pdf"
     }
   ],
   "scope": "broad",
   "status": "draft",
   "target_public_health_threats": [
     "Dengue fever"
   ],
   "title": "Open Syndrome Dengue Fever",
   "version": "1.0.0"
 }

Using the Definition #

Healthcare organizations can implement this definition through:

  • Direct integration with surveillance systems
  • API endpoints for real-time validation
  • Manual case verification processes

Next Steps #

We encourage:

  • Clinical feedback on the definition criteria
  • Technical feedback on the implementation format
  • Suggestions for additional symptoms or signs
  • Reports of implementation experiences

Get Involved #

We welcome contributions and feedback from the community.