How is dengue contracted?
The virus is contracted from the bite of a striped Aedes aegypti mosquito
that has previously bitten an infected person. The mosquito flourishes
during rainy seasons but can breed in water-filled flower pots, plastic
bags, and cans year-round. One mosquito bite can inflict the disease.
The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to
person. There must be a person-to-mosquito-to-another-person pathway.
shock syndrome
The worst kind of dengue is the shock syndrome, where your whole circulatory
system just shuts down though it’s rare. Symptoms of dengue can vary but
are often associated with a fever, headaches, joint pain and a rash. For
most people it is not fatal. There is no specific treatment or vaccine for
dengue fever. Once contracted, doctor’s advice is to take fluids and rest.
The pathogenesis of dengue shock syndrome remains unclear. It is suggested
that antibody-dependent enhancement is involved in these more serious
conditions when infected the second time around with a different serotype of
the virus. After an initial period of protection, antibodies from the
primary infection can cross-react with other dengue virus serotypes but have
waned to non-neutralizing levels leading to increased virus replication and
immune activation including massive cytokine release also known as a
cytokine storm.
