Symptoms of Dengue and Testing

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Key points

  • 1 in 4: About one in four people infected with dengue will get sick.
  • For people who get sick with dengue, symptoms can be mild or severe.
  • Severe dengue can be life-threatening within a few hours and often requires care at a hospital.
Adult Aedes Aegypti mosquito feeding on a host

Symptoms

The most common symptom of dengue is fever with any of the following:

  • Aches and pains (headache, eye pain, typically behind the eyes, muscle, joint, or bone pain)
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Rash
  • Any warning sign
Human silhouette with callout graphics with dengue symptoms.
Common symptoms of dengue.

Dengue symptoms

Fever with any of the following

- Eye pain

- Muscle pain

- Bone pain

- Joint pain

- Headache

- Nausea/vomiting

- Rash

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  • Mild symptoms of dengue can be confused with other illnesses that cause fever.
  • Symptoms of dengue typically last 2–7 days.
  • Most people will recover after about a week.

When to seek emergency help

Symptoms of dengue can become severe within a few hours. Severe dengue is a medical emergency.

About 1 in 20 people who get sick with dengue will develop severe dengue. Severe dengue can result in shock, internal bleeding, and death.

Warning signs are symptoms that indicate a person may be at higher risk for developing severe dengue. Immediately go to a local clinic or emergency room if you or a family member has any of the following warning signs:

  • Belly pain or tenderness
  • Vomiting (at least 3 times in 24 hours)
  • Bleeding from the nose or gums
  • Vomiting blood, or blood in the stool
  • Feeling extremely tired or restless
Graphic showing the warning signs of severe dengue.
Warning signs of severe dengue include bleeding, vomiting, and belly pain.

Watch for warning signs of severe dengue after your fever has gone away.

- Bleeding from the nose or gums

- Belly pain, tenderness

- Vomiting (at least 3 times in 24 hours)

- Vomiting blood

- Blood in the stool

- Feeling tired, restless, or irritable

Severe dengue is a medical emergency, and it requires immediate medical care.

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Warning Signs

Watch for warning signs. Warning signs usually begin in the 24–48 hours after fever has gone away.

Testing

  • See your healthcare provider if you have symptoms of dengue and live in or have recently traveled to an area with risk of dengue.
  • A blood test is the only way to confirm the diagnosis.
    • Laboratory confirmation is not required to manage illness from dengue, and your healthcare provider might provide care based on your signs and symptoms.
  • Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for dengue or other similar viruses like Zika or chikungunya.
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Content Source
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
About This Page
Published: May 15, 2024
Updated: October 19, 2026

This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.

Reviewed: May 22, 2025

The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.