Dengue Fever

1 June 2017

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Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infection found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world.

It is caused by a virus which is transmitted by an infected Aedes mosquito - Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite infected humans, and later transmit infection to other people they bite.

The disease usually is self-limiting but in some people can present with life-threatening complications such as Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever and Dengue Shock Syndrome.

There is no vaccine to protect against dengue. Developing a vaccine against dengue/severe dengue has been challenging although there has been recent progress in vaccine development.

At present, the only method to control or prevent the transmission of dengue virus is to combat vector mosquitoes.

More information on the disease can be found here.