Dengue: What You Need To Know

A record 3,965 cases of dengue were seen in the first seven weeks of 2016. Warm weather, faster mosquito breeding patterns and a switch in the predominant dengue virus from DENV-1 to DENV-2 has experts predicting the number of cases this year could exceed 30,000. Be prepared, and don’t be one of the unlucky ones.

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What is dengue fever?

It’s a severe, flu-like illness that’s transmitted by the bite of the Aedes mosquito.

What does an Aedes mosquito look like?

It has black-and-white stripes on its body.

What are the symptoms?

It usually takes four to seven days before a person infected with the virus starts to show symptoms. They might experience a sudden onset of fever (which can last for up to seven days). This can be accompanied by headaches, muscle and joint pain, loss of appetite, nausea and a rash.

Can dengue fever be life-threatening?