Dengue virus

The dengue virus is a microscopic structure that can only replicate inside a host organism.

It is presently the most common cause of arboviral disease globally, and all four serotypes of them can be found worldwide. 128 countries are endemic, primarily affecting 3.9 billion inhabit ants in the tropical and subtropical regions as well as 120 million travellers to these regions every year.  The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates an annual incidence of approximately 390 million infections, and requiring 96 million people for clinical care.  

Mild dengue fever causes a high fever, rash, and muscle and joint pain.
A severe form of dengue fever, also called dengue haemorrhagic fever, can cause severe bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and death, with approximately 500,000 people requiring hospitalization, a large proportion being children.

Millions of cases of dengue infection occur worldwide each year. Dengue fever is most common in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific islands, but the disease has been increasing rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Researchers are working on dengue fever vaccines. For now the best prevention is to reduce mosquito habitat in areas where dengue fever is common.

The World Health Organization stresses that the vaccine is not an effective tool, on its own, to reduce dengue fever in areas where the illness is common. Controlling the mosquito population and human exposure is still the most critical part of prevention efforts.