Lupus
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Case Reports
Dengue fever evolving into systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis: a case report.
Dengue viremia may be the trigger for immune complex formation in patients who are predisposed to developing autoimmune disease. We report a rare case of dengue virus infection evolving into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case of dengue fever evolving into lupus nephritis. ⋯ Both dengue fever and SLE have common manifestations of fever, arthralgia, rash, leucopenia with thrombocytopenia and serositis. Bacterial and viral infections may act as a 'trigger' for starting or relapsing lupus activity in genetically predetermined individuals. In our case it may be possible that dengue virus could have triggered a dysfunctional immune response, resulting in the developing of autoimmunity and SLE with lupus nephritis.