Transmission

Dengue viruses are transmitted to humans through the bites of infective female Aedes mosquitoes. Most commonly, the mosquitoes involved are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two species that can also transmit other mosquito-borne viruses, including Zika and Chikungunya. Other infection routes are reported from mother to child and blood transmission (see Figure 1). The main transmission is through mosquitoes that generally acquire the virus while feeding on an infected person’s blood. After virus incubation for eight to ten days, an infected mosquito can

After a person is infected with dengue, they develop an immune response to that subtype. The immune response produces specific antibodies to that subtype-specific surface proteins that prevent the virus from binding to macrophage cells (the target cells that dengue viruses infect) and gaining entry. However, if another subtype of dengue virus infects the individual, the virus will activate the immune system to attack it as if it were the first subtype. The immune system