Dear, Auntie:
Today you asked me What Causes Dengue and How is it Transmitted? This is the study of epidemiology.
Dengue is transmitted from person to person by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.[1] These mosquitoes are known as "vectors" because they pass the Dengue virus from one person to another. Many people distinguish the mosquitoes which transmit malaria from the mosquitoes which transmit Dengue by the white stripes on the legs.
In order to pass the virus from person to person, the mosquito must bite the Dengue infected person while they are showing signs of Dengue infection and the mosquito will be able to infect other humans about 8 days after biting the infected person.[1] It usually takes a week after a mosquito bite to start showing signs of Dengue infection and the illness lasts about 3-10 days.[1]
Dengue Fever is endemic (or common) in tropical or subtropical places like Guyana and other South American countries. However, in the United States it is not common, despite the tropical weather in some Southern states and the closeness to Mexico, simple because of infrequent exposure to Dengue infected persons in the US.[1,2]
References:
1. Epidemiology: Transmission of the Dengue Virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. Updated. Jun 9, 2014. Accessed on: April 6, 2015. Accessed From: http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/epidemiology/
2. Murray NE, Quam MB, Wilder-Smith A. 2013. Epidemiology of dengue: past, present, and future propects. Clin Epidemiol 5: 299-309. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S34440.
Dengue is transmitted from person to person by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.[1] These mosquitoes are known as "vectors" because they pass the Dengue virus from one person to another. Many people distinguish the mosquitoes which transmit malaria from the mosquitoes which transmit Dengue by the white stripes on the legs.
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| Figure 1. This is the Aedes albopictus mosquito which is responsible for infecting people with the Dengue virus. |
In order to pass the virus from person to person, the mosquito must bite the Dengue infected person while they are showing signs of Dengue infection and the mosquito will be able to infect other humans about 8 days after biting the infected person.[1] It usually takes a week after a mosquito bite to start showing signs of Dengue infection and the illness lasts about 3-10 days.[1]
Dengue Fever is endemic (or common) in tropical or subtropical places like Guyana and other South American countries. However, in the United States it is not common, despite the tropical weather in some Southern states and the closeness to Mexico, simple because of infrequent exposure to Dengue infected persons in the US.[1,2]
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| Figure 2. The countries in orange are those who had reported cases of Dengue in 2010 according to the World Health Organization. As you can see, most of these areas are just North and South of the equator where the climate is tropical.[2] |
References:
1. Epidemiology: Transmission of the Dengue Virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. Updated. Jun 9, 2014. Accessed on: April 6, 2015. Accessed From: http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/epidemiology/
2. Murray NE, Quam MB, Wilder-Smith A. 2013. Epidemiology of dengue: past, present, and future propects. Clin Epidemiol 5: 299-309. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S34440.
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