Dengue virus
Dengue viruses are mainly transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, causing dengue fever.
Detailed description
Dengue virus is a single-stranded RNA virus and belongs to the genus Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae. The viruses are transmitted to humans mainly through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes and can cause dengue fever. To date, four serotypes of the virus have been identified (with a fifth yet to be confirmed), all of which can cause the same spectrum of disease. Because dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever and other viruses are transmitted by the same mosquito species, co-infection with different virus types is common.
The spread of the dengue virus has increased dramatically over the past 20 years and the virus has become one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne pathogens facing tropical countries. A person can become infected with dengue several times in their lifetime. Up to 400 million people are infected with dengue each year.
