Context

To help manage the dengue outbreak, the Union Government has deployed central teams of experts in nine states and Union Territories to bolster efforts to contain the mosquito-borne disease.

About Dengue

• Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has rapidly spread in all regions.
• Transmitted by: Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent,  albopictus.
  • These mosquitoes are also vectors of chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses.
• Dengue is widespread throughout the tropics, with local variations in risk influenced by rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and unplanned rapid urbanization.

Virus:

• The dengue fever is caused by the virus of the family Flaviviridae or the dengue virus (DENV).
• DENV has four distinct but closely related, variants, known as:
  • DENV-1
  • DENV-2
  • DENV-3
  • DENV-4
• DENV-2 and DENV-4 are associated with severe dengue cases. In India, DENV-1 AND DENV-2 are more prominent

How does it spread?

• Mosquitoes generally acquire the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person.
• After an incubation period that lasts between 8-10 days, an infected mosquito can spread the virus to people for the rest of its life.
• Humans are the main host of the virus, although monkeys have been found to pick up the infection in some parts of the world.

Vaccines for Dengue

• There are no vaccines for Dengue yet.
• WHO has allowed Dengvaxia- tetravalent live vaccine in a few countries like Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil and the Philippines but research is still underway to know about its overall side effects and benefits.